


Bella Noche

by aserene



Category: NCIS
Genre: Blood Drinking, F/M, Fantasy, Tags Contain Spoilers, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserene/pseuds/aserene
Summary: Director Shepard and Agent Gibbs had a history, a past that was passionate and not quite as much of a mystery as they would like to believe, except for that one tiny detail, Jenny knew that no one else ever did.
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jenny Shepard
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33





	1. Twilight

**Author's Note:**

> Pulled from my archive and never actually published before, mainly cause I lost interest in the vampire thing. Amazing what a few good Netflix shows will do for you. 
> 
> I would like to say this will be finished by Halloween, I make no promises. 
> 
> Also Historical Note: According to most accepted history while there were witch trials in Salem, no one was actually burned at the stake, they were killed by hanging.

_ Salem, Massachuttes, 1692 _

He watched from the dark fringe of the forest as the torches were lit, and the screams filled his ears. The mother and child accused of witchcraft and forced to face the penalty, reached for one another as the flames reached closer and closer. The man stood unmoving, unable to turn away from his loved ones. He had been on the hunting party when he returned a day early to find this. He demanded revenge, desired it, as he knew his wife and child were innocent. Finally, the screams died off as the town cheered their success. He stood silently and watched as another figure emerged next to him, keeping to the shadows. 

“I can give you what you want,” the figure said. “The ability to hunt them forever.” The man stood as he watched what was left of his life smolder. 

“I accept.” The last thing he felt was the piercing of his skin. 

_ Virginia, 1991 _

He had tried for a normal life. Tried to forget his curse, thought that perhaps it was time to attempt love again. Sadly it was not meant to last either. He officially never wanted to give his heart away again. The two metal plaques that should not be there were in the fresh ground with flowers lying around them. He tried to block out what seemed to be the double screams from nightmares long past. 

It was better this way, he thought, better they did not know the monster he was. 

_ An old farmhouse, Serbia, 1998  _

Jennifer Shepard suspected she had seen her fair share of weird things, but this probably took the cake. Her partner/lover Jethro Gibbs was avoiding the small church in town like the plague. It wasn’t a religious thing, as far as she knew, it seemed as if he was almost terrified to go into one. She never questioned it, was positive he didn’t think she knew. Yet it was this oddity coupled with a few other things that had brought her to a startling conclusion. 

He avoided biting her, love bites, or any such contact. He would kiss her neck but never spend very long, even though she could tell it was a turn on. If she offered it to him, it seemed to require all his control not to accept. At first, she thought he wasn’t a neck person, but she learned that was not the case. So it had been a puzzle, and she loved puzzles. 

The puzzle concluded in her following him one night when he slipped out of bed and moved silently to the door. If she didn’t know better, she would swear he simply glided across the floor. She had followed him to the barn where he had said he would kill a lamb so they would have something to eat. His gunshot wound had proved troublesome in that, but he had promised to try again. What she found was not anywhere close to what she thought might be the problem. 

The lamb was dead; its jugular sliced open, blood dripping into a cup, a cup that was then gracing the lips of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Her flight instinct tried to kick in, telling her this was insane and just one of the considerable reasons they would never work, but her heart overruled her. She stayed. 

He, however, did not. Part of the curse came with an advanced smell, and he could smell her unique scent anywhere. When it entered the barn, he knew he was in trouble. That he quite possibly had lost his lover, not that he was going to call her that. He had a very long memory and did not want to suffer a third pain. He fled, fled into the night, into the woods near the cabin. She followed. 

She knew it wasn’t incredibly intelligent, but she followed anyway. She followed because it was what her heart told her to do. She had to run to catch him and ended up skidding to a stop in a small grove, where the moonlight barely let in enough light to see her hands. She could feel him there. 

“You shouldn’t be out here,” came the warning from somewhere above her. She stood still.

“I’m hungry, you said you’d kill the lamb,” she shot back. 

“You can’t pretend forever,” he informed.

“I’m hardly pretending.”

“Are you frightened?”  
“Yes,” it was perhaps the most honest she’d ever been. 

“Not nearly frightened enough,” he told her coming close to her. She held her ground.

“I’m not scared of you, Jethro. If you were going to do whatever it is you do, you had plenty of opportunities.” 

“Whatever it is, I do?” He echoed with almost a laugh. “Do you not know?”

“I know,” she answered, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She felt Jethro behind her, his hands tracing down her curves to rest on her hips. She gave in to the touch as she always did and leaned against him tilting her neck. 

“You don’t understand what temptation you are,” he whispered in her ear. She felt two sharp points drag along her neck, gently, not piercing the skin. She turned slightly and thought she should’ve been more surprised to find the two sharp canines, extended from his mouth. She should not have wanted to kiss him, she supposed, but she did. He was surprised; surprised she had let him touch her, and surprised she had kissed him, astonished that the curse was so readily accepted. It gave him all sorts of ideas, ideas that he shouldn’t be having. 

“You’re a vampire,” she whispered against his lips. He nodded and took a breath. 

“Jen,” he started. “You…” She placed two fingers to his lips.

“It doesn’t change who you are, here,” she moved her hand to his heart, she could feel it beating. 

“It’s dangerous.” 

“You haven’t bitten me yet,” she replied smartly before giving him a soft smile. “And now I know, I’ll be more careful.” 

“I don’t feed on humans,” he defended. “We can survive just fine with iron pills and things; it’s when we get injured that it requires blood. Animal blood works fine, or sometimes the blood banks, a packet should be fine,” he rattled off. “We can go out in the sun, eat garlic, really it’s only a stake through the heart.”  
“And you build boats in your basement, little dangerous?” She teased. 

“No,” he answered with a forlorn look. It was a look he often got, sometimes after he’d wake from a nightmare and think she slept through it. 

“Jethro, who’s Sarah?” He turned to her, and she saw a flash of anger before he physically restrained himself. She held her ground.

“Why?” His voice was haggard. 

“You call for her at night.” He looked away towards the trees that were the only witness to this. 

“She’s the reason I’m this way.” 

“She turned you?” Jenny wasn’t sure she liked the idea of a woman; immortal that might still hold his heart. 

“No. She was killed in Salem with her daughter. My daughter.” 

“A car accident?” Jenny tried to understand. 

“Salem, Massachusetts,” he repeated, turning at her. 

“Salem, I got that, but how?” She asked. 

“She was burned at stake.” 

“Like a…” Jenny faded off, “witch” caught under her breath. “Jethro…just how old are you?”

“Older than you,” he answered with a smirk. Jenny hit his shoulder and felt him wince. 

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize…”

“It’s a sign of weakness, I know.” She turned to study his wound. “It’s not healing,” she informed. 

“I know, hence the lamb,” he answered. She nodded but reached behind her to pull her knife. He looked at her with a question.

“Rule 9,” she quoted, before holding the knife up and her free hand steady. She brought the knife down, but his cat-like reflexes stopped it. 

“What are you doing?” He growled. 

“You need blood; I have blood.”

“No.” 

“You can be stubborn all you want; I’m still doing this,” she answered. Gibbs grabbed her hand. 

“Then we’ll do it right.” He led her back to the cabin and over to the fireplace, where he held out her knife and heated the metal. “Pour some bourbon over your palm,” he told her. She did as instructed and held her hand out for the knife. “I’ll do it,” he said gently before kissing her palm. She nodded and watched as the blade came down and made the cut. He winced, as her blood spilled on to his hand, hating the need that went running through his body. She lifted her hand to him, and he met her emerald eyes once before leaning in and lapping the blood from her hand. He took only what he knew he needed, pulled back from her as quickly as possible, and bandaged her hand up. He looked up to her eyes and found them hazy but open; she had a soft smile on her face and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

“So…what do I taste like?” He laughed, before showing his appreciation, in the manner to which they both grown accustomed. As they lay intertwined hours later, she whispered a promise never to tell anyone his secret. 

_ Paris, 1999 _

It was getting harder to watch him suffer. A stray bullet had caught her, and he had emptied his clip into the baddie responsible. It seemed their relationship was affecting the work and he had become overprotective. He had been injured but refused to use her as a means to heal, not when she was injured. It made sense, but his aggravated pacing every night as she lay in bed was starting to grate on her nerves. She knew the breaking point was coming; she was surprised it had held so long. 

“Jethro, stop pacing,” she ordered from the bed. He was by her side immediately. 

“Do you want anything to drink? Eat?” 

“I want you to calm down,” she snapped. “You’re pacing like a caged animal.”

“I don’t want to bother you, you need to rest and recover,” he told her.

“Jethro, like every other person, I will heal in time.”

“Like every other human,” he reminded. “I’m not, Jen. You can’t keep acting like this is nothing; you could’ve been killed!” 

“And would it have mattered to you?” She finally had lost her temper and asked the question she needed the answer to.

“Of course it matters,” he snapped back, missing the undertones, or at least she thought he had. The truth of the matter was that he had very keenly tasted her mortality, and the knowledge that his heart was in her hands seemed quite surprised him. He had seriously considered changing her, but it had to be her choice. And even then, he couldn’t let her accept.

“And just how many other women have you said that to?” She was angry, and he couldn’t exactly blame her. He did not answer, though. He did not have the answer because, in truth, only two women before her ever mattered, and even then, he imagined they would not have liked to find out his secret. “Forget it, Jethro, I’m sorry, I’m tired.” 

“You matter to me, Jen,” he answered, kissing her lips softly. “I prefer keeping you in one piece.” 

“Change me,” she said after a minute of silence. Gibbs met her eyes. “Change me, this is tearing you up, Jethro, you’re not quite as good as hiding your emotions as you would like to believe. Just change me.”

“I can’t,” he told her. “Even if I could…I wouldn’t.” 

“Why not?” 

“It’s a curse, Jenny; you have a life ahead of you…this is a curse that anyone can find out and use against you. And that’s if you survive the transformation.” She said nothing as he lay down again beside her. She could understand his point of view; she knew he loved her, but the words were desired at least once, and he still could not give that to her. Perhaps it was for the best that she left before he would be tempted to do what he did not want. She kissed him once as she left and leaned down to his ear.

“I would’ve changed for you.” 

_ Washington D.C. 2003, MTAC _

“Hello, Jethro.” The voice was as sweet as he remembered, combined with the scent he had all but banished from his mind and the taste he had survived on. She was back, the situation reversed, and he still had not found a way to combat the need for her. 

  
  



	2. Dawn

“There won’t be any off the job, Agent Gibbs,” her voice was commanding. 

“That’s too bad,” Gibbs replied. “I really missed you, Jen.” He watched the façade break for a second before she summoned her strength.

“Don’t make this harder than it is.”

“Fair enough, it won’t happen again,” he said as he went down the stairs. 

“We can continue this conversation in private,” she informed, noticing the quizzical eyes. Private came as he ran up to change his clothes, and she found a stool in the basement to sit and wait, remembering the last time she was in that room. He came down in a fresh shirt and suit before pouring her a glass of bourbon. They talked about the boat, Jenny knew about the latest ex-wife, and he mentally cursed Ducky. Her letter was still fresh in his mind. Stephaine had felt like a betrayal to Jen, more so than any of the other wives had ever felt like a betrayal to Sarah. He had not enjoyed that revelation. “Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you are a strange man.”  
“Ha, me?” He answered innocently. She gave him her look, and he simply gave her a smirk. They had their brief argument over her interview, and he was incredibly thankful she postponed it. They were still on the stairs when she gently brushed her hand on his shoulder. 

“Does your team know?” Jenny asked.

“No.” It was a simple answer. The fact that no one knew except her still made her feel special in a way that only he had accomplished. Jenny would never admit that he had ruined her for other men, but her lack of a sex life, or social life, in general, supported the theory. She couldn’t know he had been the same. 

“Does Ari know?” She had to ask, he supposed. 

“Not that I know,” Gibbs answered. 

“That makes him dangerous,” she reminded him. “Do not go after him alone.” Gibbs withheld his retort and knew that she was the only person he would take with him, which was precisely why hours later, he sat in front of her townhouse, dialing her number. 

_ “Shepard.” _

“I need a partner for the night.” Silence.

_ “Jethro, don’t you know any other women?” _

“For backup…you didn’t think I meant…”

_ “Where are you?” _

“Look outside.” He watched her silhouette till the curtain drew back, and he gave a small wave. Jenny hung up the phone, and five minutes later, the front door opened, and she darted across to the car. She fixed her hair as he drove to the location. 

“I can’t believe this. Twenty-four hours as Director, and I’m already back on the street.”  
“You love it,” he reminded. 

“Honestly, I’d rather be in bed,” she answered flatly before blushing. “Asleep,” She clarified. 

“You remember Marsailles? August, that attic, the second night that’s the first time we…” Jenny placed her palm over his mouth.

“Okay. Shut up.” The palm lingered, and Gibbs couldn’t help but notice that it contained a faint scar down it. His mark. She moved her hand quickly as if burned and sat staring straight ahead. They watched, and he was not surprised but slightly angry when the bullets flew into her side of the car. Jenny ducked, and he tried to cover her as he backed up the car before going for the chase. Gibbs reached the dead man first, nearly ready to lunge and rip his throat out, literally, but found he was already dead. “I pictured Ari to be older.”

“He is.” Gibbs cursed before calling his team and then ushering Jenny back into the car. “I’ll take you home, probably better if they don’t know you were here,” he told her, and she agreed privately but was worried about him. 

“Did you get hit?” She asked. 

“No.” It was terse, and he parked right in front of her house, keeping his eyes dead ahead. 

“Jethro…” she sighed for a second. “I’m here, and you can’t pretend I don’t know. I…have a friend at the hospital, she runs the blood bank…” Jenny placed a business card in his shirt pocket. “No questions asked,” she assured before getting out of the car. Gibbs drove off quickly, and she never saw the surprise that flitted across his features. 

In the bullpen hours later, she stood with the rest of the team, giving her Director spiel about the closed case. She knew it wasn’t, she knew Gibbs wouldn’t leave it at that, and she was counting on Ziva to keep him safe. She waited until the rest of his team had left, the DiNozzo character attempting to tail Ziva, before going to leave herself. 

“Get some sleep Jethro,” she said gently. “The funeral is tomorrow.” He gave her a brief nod before watching her leave with Ducky. She knew she wouldn’t see him again till the funeral, and by then, she suspected Ari Hasawari would be dead. 

Funerals had never been easy for him, but this one somehow felt not quite as heavy. Yes, Kate had given her life to protect others. Yes, he thought of her as a child and losing a child never got any easier, but it seemed like the guilt would be manageable, and he in no way thought it connected to the presence of the redhead at his side. He had walked with both Abby and Jenny beside him, but Abby soon scampered off to find McGee, seeking comfort with someone he doubted was simply a platonic friend. However, Jenny stayed beside him, even as people came to greet her, other agents, she never moved to mingle. She stayed nearby, unobtrusively giving support. 

Gibbs was grateful for her presence. Even more thankful when she suggested they leave the after-dinner drinks to the younger crowd, people who were Kate’s friends and family. He’d been invited to stay but knew he’d be more comfortable in solitude. He left under the guise of protecting the Director and warned his team to behave before leaving with Jenny. He stayed two steps behind until they were away from the prying eyes, and then she slowed to meet his pace. 

“The paperwork went through, Kate’s family will be presented with the award,” she said. 

“That was fast.”

“I have friends,” she answered. “It helps occasionally.” 

“You did good, Jen,” he said, the first sense of approval for her new position she’d gotten. 

“I was the second choice,” Jenny sighed, hiding a smile. 

“Who were they going to give it to?” She said nothing for a minute. “Not that ass, Leon Vance.”

“No,” she laughed. “Though Vance is set to become an assistant director.” 

“Great. So who was it?” 

“You.” She answered straight-faced.

“Me?”  
“I believe Morrow’s exact words were, ‘It should be Gibbs, but I would not shoot NCIS in the head, so you’ll have to do.’”

“He did not say that.”  
“He did. The committee agreed with him.” He studied her face for a moment before tapping her nose. 

“Liar.” 

“Am not.” 

“Look me in the eye and tell me that,” Gibbs tried, and she turned. 

“Not allowed to use that on me,” she huffed. Jenny wasn’t quite sure if it was the not so human part of him or just him in general, but looking him in the eye, she felt exposed and vulnerable like he could see everything there was to her. He didn’t do it most of the time, but it would not be acceptable to use now. 

“Liar,” he smirked. Happy, he was correct, though he had known with the slight twitch of her eye. 

“Had you going for a minute though,” she countered. 

“A minute maybe,” Gibbs challenged. He glanced around the street they were walking down, trying to find coffee. “Want coffee?” He finally spotted a sign. 

“Is it any good?” The pluses to the not so human side, advanced scent to determine the flavor of the coffee.

“They have Jamaican blend,” he informed, leading her in the direction. They passed an alleyway just before the coffee shop, and Gibbs froze immediately, grabbing Jen and pulling her away from the alley. 

“Jethro!” His hand covered her mouth, and she froze as two figures emerged from the alleyway. 

“Gibbs,” one called. “Mortal is fair game.”

“Not this one,” he snapped back. The second figure was an older stately looking man. 

“We had to be sure, Leroy,” he informed, canines retracting. “Trauma will do strange things to a person.”  
“It hasn’t done anything to me yet,” Gibbs barked, loosening his hold on Jenny. 

“And does the mortal speak?” The younger one asked. 

“Not to you.” 

“Come, my child,” the elderly man greeted, holding a hand out for her. Jenny felt entranced, something only Jethro had made her feel, but this was an unwilling trance, she did not want to go with this man, but her body was overruling her heart and head. She felt Jethro’s hands tighten on her. Her scarred hand touch the elderly gentleman’s as he tried to grasp it but quickly pulled away as if burned. “Very well, Leroy. Our condolences on your agent,” the elderly gentlemen said before slinking back into the shadows followed by the other. Gibbs abandoned the idea for coffee and quickly led Jenny back to the hotel room. He could tell she was out of it. She was not fighting his hold on her. He sat her down on the bed in her room and gripped her shoulders. 

“Jen!” Gibbs shook her slightly, watching the emerald color return to its normal shade. He knew he wouldn’t have a lot of time, his team would be back soon, and then they would leave. “Jenny!” He tried again, shaking her a little harder, and she blinked her eyes open. Her hands immediately running to her neck. “Relax, Jen,” he told her gently. “It’s okay.” 

“Friends of yours?” She managed to get out. 

“Not exactly. Unfortunate acquaintances perhaps,” Gibbs answered, getting up and getting her some water. “The elder man, Marcus, changed me.” 

“Just checking up on you then?” Jenny tried to tease, but she still felt out of sorts. 

“Perhaps, we don’t keep in touch.”  
“What did he do to me?” She asked. 

“You know, deer in the headlight?” She nodded. “The equivalent, it makes you compliant, gives you a sense of security, it typically occurs…well you get the idea.”

“You said no humans,” she reminded. 

“And I abide by it, with that one exception, they will feed on a human if it’s necessary, but they will not change the human.” 

“They’ll kill?”

“Yes, and I disagree with it, but it happens on such rare occasions that I try to look the other way, they aim for people who also have lost their will to live, but it doesn’t make it better. The younger one runs a mortuary, so he’s a scavenger, but that doesn’t appeal to me either.” 

“So what they did to me…”

“I can’t remember ever having done it to you,” Gibbs answered honestly. Skirting around the truth, because while he was sure he’d never done it intentionally; he’d heard rumors about cases where the mortal might go into a trance consciously and allow the vampire access, because of a connection, a four-letter word he would not dare to associate with this particular redhead. 

“Are they going to be worried I know?”

“I doubt it, either way, you have an entire armed agency at your beck and call, you’ll be fine.” He stood up, putting distance between them, trying to respect her wishes. 

“What happened when he tried to touch my hand?” Jenny asked. He looked away, hoping she hadn’t noticed that. “Jethro?” He heard the noise of DiNozzo, Abby, and McGee as they made their way down the hall. 

“Time to go, Jen,” Gibbs said before turning to intercept his team. Her question left unanswered, but she filed it away for future use.


	3. Sunrise

The return from Kate’s funeral found the team settled into a new routine, adjusting to both a new Director and a new teammate. Ziva’s addition was welcome from both Jenny’s point of view and the team’s. It gave Gibbs someone else to deal with. Not that Tony found a respite from head slaps, but they were not nearly as bad.

Jenny could see the team solidifying and case closure increasing. She quietly kept an eye on them, stepping in to either irritate or help Gibbs depending on how she felt. There had undoubtedly been moments of tension between her and Gibbs, but for the most part, they seemed to fall into a comfortable rhythm, even occasionally having dinner together. Jenny knew those weren’t good ideas, she had been cautioned by Ducky too, but she honestly didn’t care. 

Gibbs wasn’t sure what was happening between them. He felt the overwhelming need to be around her, just in her circle. He could often sense she too was at ease if they spent dinner together. If dinner turned into a late-night sitting and talking, all the better. Their partnership had been solid long before they ever became lovers, and it was this partnership that he was glad to get back. Gibbs would never deny that he had moments of wanting to kiss her, but they were equal to the number of times he wanted to strangle her when she interfered in his cases. The one thing he’d been proud of was not letting his vampire side become overprotective. Deep down, he knew that was part of the reason why she left the first time. Despite her mortal status, she could handle herself. 

Until she couldn’t. 

* * *

  
  


The day had been going swimmingly until their suspect dropped dead with Ziva by his side. Gibbs popped two Advil to relieve the headache he knew was coming as he proceeded to walk up the stairs to Jenny’s office. This was a situation that would require her diplomacy. Upon not finding her there and Cynthia not seeming to know where she was, he dialed Jenny’s number. 

“Agent Gibbs,” she answered, unusually. He figured she either knew, or he was in trouble for something else and sighed. 

“Director, we’ve got a major problem here,” he said. 

“Sorry to hear that, Jethro. I have quite a serious problem myself,” she replied calmly. 

“I’m pretty sure you want to hear mine first,” Gibbs protested. 

“I’m not entirely sure that’s true…” 

“You really should be listening to her problem, Jethro,” a male voice cut Jenny off, and Gibbs felt his stomach plummet, and canines drop. He quickly tried to retract them, hoping Cynthia hadn't noticed.

When Gibbs would reflect on the day later, he could honestly say he was surprised that the team hadn’t discovered his secret. During their partnership, if she’d been in trouble, he had always been close enough to find her, either using his hearing, sense of smell, or just sensing her (he never did figure out what he felt, but sometimes he just knew where she was). This scenario was not that. Gibbs had no idea where Jenny was despite his team trying to track her movements, and Paula and her team were trying to compare them to Dempsey’s. There was only one thing he did know after his many years of experience, a man with nothing to lose wouldn’t hesitate to kill a hostage, and that thought sent a wave of fear through him that he had not experienced in many years. 

* * *

Jenny knew two things as she tried to untie herself from the chair she was in. First, Gibbs was going to kill James Dempsey, no questions asked. The second, assuming she wasn’t dead when he found her, he might out himself to his team. The first she didn’t have an issue with, as she could honestly say she was hoping to beat him to that, the second, was a significant problem,  _ but one to consider after getting out of these restraints.  _ After about an hour and numerous back and forth of trying to get Alex or James to turn on the other, she was finally out of the restraints only to hear the gun go off behind her. 

“I just shot him to get my brother back. What do you think I'll do to you?” James threatened. She knew she had to fight back but also knew she should bide her moment. The moment came after James hung up on Gibbs. Something was wrong, and she didn’t need to have super senses to figure that one out. Jenny quickly put into action her skills scoring a few hits before he grabbed her, and suddenly he was thrown across the room. Jenny froze, looking at her hand. The only time something even remotely similar had happened was a few months ago after Agent Todd’s funeral. 

“You’re a…” she trailed off as he got up. Correction she now knew one thing, Gibbs would kill this man, but she would be dead before it happened. 

“Well, well, who do you belong to, mortal?” James demanded. He was behind her before she could blink. “Do you think if I kill you now, they’ll feel the pain?” 

“I don’t know what…” 

“Don’t try to play me, little girl, it must be your Jethro...there's no way one of our kind lets a mortal like you with another mortal,” James informed. “I suppose I should keep you alive just to see his face when I rip your throat out.” 

“You can try,” Jenny taunted, not entirely sure where her bravery was coming from. James shoved her back in the chair. 

“They have less than an hour,” James reminded. “Enjoy it while you can, and you should hope my brother is unharmed or whatever they’ve done will happen to you.” 

“I find it hard to believe they could do anything to one of you,” Jenny replied. James said nothing in response, and Jenny considered that. “Oh, your brother is as mortal as I am.” 

“He is unclaimed,” James replied as if that answered her question. He left the room with that leaving her to her thoughts. 

* * *

“Looks like your people came through for you after all,” James announced, coming back into the storage room. 

“So you're home free,” Jenny said. “

“I'm not stupid. I know they'll have people following. But in five minutes, I'll be twenty thousand feet over the Atlantic. Get up!” He ordered. James quickly pulled her in front of him and forced her to the door and out into the hanger.

Jenny watched the car pull in, noticing Ziva in the backseat. She was honestly surprised. She figured it would be DiNozzo.  _ If Ziva is here, Jethro must be in a sniper’s roost. _ Jenny tried to look up discreetly, but her shoulders forced her to look ahead at the car. 

“You! Out of the car! Hands-on your head! Cuff yourself—hands behind your back. I said, cuff yourself! Now lie down,” James screamed at Ziva. Jenny watched as Ziva complied, rolling over and displaying a gun on her back. “Very clever,” James said, grabbing the gun. “Brian, get the drugs and take them on the plane! They're right behind you. Get the damn drugs, Brian! Brian!” Jenny looked again to the car, noticing how Brian slumped in the seat. She took a deep breath and held still as she realized what was about to happen. “They killed him. You killed my baby brother!” 

James' screams were drowned out as he fell backward behind her, a gunshot ringing out. Jenny felt herself begin to breathe again as Ziva stood up and came to her cutting her bonds. 

“It's a pretty interesting story,” Ziva told her. Jenny nodded, spotting the trunk popped open as DiNozzo got out of the front seat to secure James’ weapon. Jenny glanced at the body, knowing it wouldn’t be very long before he rose. Ziva turned to Tony to help him, and Jenny watched Gibbs climb out of the trunk. She glanced toward the body, hoping he would notice the issue. Jenny was aware of how fast he could move if he chose, and perhaps it was why she thought he took so long to get to her side. He checked her wrists as if to make sure she wasn’t injured and Jenny used the opportunity. 

“He’s one of you,” she whispered so quietly she was sure no one else had heard. Jenny felt his hands tighten on her wrists before he dropped them altogether. 

“Ziva, DiNozzo take Brain’s body back to NCIS. Send Ducky over with the truck, and we’ll process the scene. 

“Of course, Gibbs, “Ziva answered. “Director?” 

“She’s staying, she has to give a statement,” Gibbs replied in her place. For good measure, Jenny shot him a glare and wasn’t surprised as Ziva stalled a moment longer before nodding and getting back in the car with Tony. Gibbs waited until the car was out of sight before he turned around to the body. He reached down to his ankle and grabbed his spare weapon handing it to her. “Try not to shoot me,” Gibbs warned as he pushed her behind him. 

“Ah, so it is Jethro,” James’ voice drawled as he stood. “Well, your mortal is forfeit.” 

“She’s off-limits.” 

“By our laws, her life is mine.” 

“You didn’t claim your brother, he wasn’t one of us,” Gibbs replied. “Laws don’t apply.” 

“We shall see,” James snapped before blinking and suddenly reappearing directly in front of Gibbs and punching him. Jenny backed up again, watching the two fight, as Gibbs struck back. Jenny watched as Gibbs suddenly had James up against a wall. 

“You made a mistake going after her,” Gibbs growled. 

“She’s not one of us,” James reminded. 

“She’s still off-limits,” Gibbs barked, his hand suddenly slamming through James' chest. Jenny watched as James fell to the floor, a stake of wood sticking out of his heart. Jenny kept the gun leveled, watching as Gibbs stood straight and turned toward her. He stared at her a moment, before shaking his head. “You’re bleeding.” 

“Am I?” Jenny questioned, standing perfectly still. She was familiar with this. She knew to wait until he came to her. He was in front of her in a blink of an eye, his hands grasping her shoulders. “Jethro.” 

Whether her voice carried a warning, or he could sense her mood, he released her and kept his eye focused on the ground. He was breathing heavily through his mouth as if to avoid smelling something. Jenny knew it was a coping method. 

“He tried to cut me; something repelled him. Something similar to what happened after Agent Todd’s funeral,” Jenny explained. He grunted. “What is it?”

“Jen…”

“Jethro, twice now, others of your kind have tried to kill me, something has stopped them temporarily, what it is?”

“I’m not sure,” Gibbs answered, turning from her. 

“You have a theory,” Jenny guessed. “What is it?”  
“It’s just that, a theory. It’s not like I have a huge frame of reference,” Gibbs protested. Jenny continued to stare at him. “It’s possible that feeding from you...drinking your blood, left a barrier of some kind.” 

“A barrier?” 

“I…” Gibbs paused. “Like a keep away, this one is already claimed, we can be territorial when it comes down to it.”

“A claim?”

“I’m not sure, Jen. It’s a theory. You know I don’t normally take from the living or at least directly. I don’t know,” Gibbs replied honestly. He turned his head toward the airstrip. “Ducky’s coming; we should meet him.” 

It seemed as if the conversation was closed, though Jenny knew if she had her way, it would not be. Ducky’s arrival caused the two of them to separate to a more appropriate distance. The good doctor checked Jenny over before attending to the body of James Dempsey. His question about the developing black eye had Jenny claiming credit. Gibbs smirked at that before guiding her to a second car. An hour later, they discussed the results of Briain Dempsey’s autopsy, three old friends, agreeing to the best narrative,  _ Just like the old days,  _ Jenny thought. To no one’s surprise, Gibbs offered to drive her home as she had no security detail. 

Jenny tried not to think about that and tried to block it for the remainder of the evening. As she dumped her coat in the study, she watched as Gibbs grabbed two glasses and poured bourbon into them. He held one out to her, and she clinked her glass to his. They shared the drink in silence, as they had several times now. Jenny glanced away as if pondering the events of the day. 

“Jen, it wasn’t your fault,” he said, putting down his glass. She looked up at him. 

“I know,” she replied after a minute. “It’s the circumstance, who knew he’d be…”

“There are more out there than you know,” Gibbs replied. “I can...I’ll check in with some of the… leaders,” he sighed. “Make sure they’re aware.” 

“Will it do anything?” Jenny asked. 

“It might,” Gibbs said with a shrug. She sat back in her chair, watching him for a second. 

“Does the team know now?” 

“No,” Gibbs replied. He sighed, looking at her. “Cynthia might.” 

“What? Jethro!” 

“She was there when I called you,” Gibbs protested. 

“You lost control?” 

“You think I was going to be able to keep it after finding out you're being held hostage by the brother of the man we killed?” Gibbs snapped. 

“Yes!” Jenny argued. “You have in the past.” 

“Jen,” he said, his voice deepening. 

“Don’t,” Jenny snapped, turning away. “Don’t come up with an excuse, did you hurt her?” 

“You have that little faith in me?” 

“No,” Jenny sighed. “What did she see?”  
“She may have seen the fangs. I don’t know. I tried to grab control as fast as I could,” Gibbs explained. “It caught me off guard.” 

“Seems like the day for that, I never checked my surroundings,” Jenny replied. “I should have.” 

“I should have changed up your guard. There’s...there’s an Agent who’s…”

“Do not tell me another one of my agents is a vampire. I cannot handle that tonight.” Gibbs shrugged before turning to the door. “But seriously, who is it?”

“I’ll introduce you,” Gibbs promised. “You seem tired; you should lay down.” 

“You staying?”

“I’ll be down here,” Gibbs assured, walking her to the staircase. 

“Will you?” Jenny questioned, watching him closely. He shrugged, and suddenly a black wolf stood alongside him. Jenny rolled her eyes before turning upstairs, the wolf following at her heels. Gibbs waited until he heard the door lock at the top of the stairs before closing his eyes. He found himself out in front of the house, glancing toward the darkest shadows. A quick smirk was all the warning he gave before pouncing and pinning the older man to the side of the house. 

“What do you want?” Gibbs growled. 

“Nothing, Jethro, nothing,” the older man assured his hands up in a gesture of peace. 

“You never turn up for nothing, Marcus, twice in a year is more than a surprise,” Gibbs said. 

“I came to check on the mortal,” Marcus answered. “I had been keeping track of Dempsey, but I got to him too late to avoid the situation.” 

“You son of a…”  
“You know we cannot lie to each other,” Marcus reminded. “I would have intervened if I could, but she more than seemed to hold her own.” 

“She said something happened when he tried to cut her, that he was repelled as if a by force.” 

“Ah,” Marcus sighed. 

“You know…”

“I have a suspicion, one I believe you share,” Marcus replied. 

“Did I cause some sort of bond to form by feeding on her?” Gibbs asked. 

“When was the last time you fed on her, directly?” Marcus inquired.

“Nineteen ninety-nine.” 

“Hm… and since she’s returned…” 

“No, not directly from her, nor any of her blood, you know I don’t usually feed on human blood.” 

“I’m aware, but it can be difficult once tasted to go back to lesser forms,” Marcus said.

“I only…” Gibbs stopped. “I’ve only ever fed from her, consistently, but it was years ago, surely if there was some sort of bond that it…” 

“Dissolved? It would entirely depend on how you fed on her,” Marcus said with a chuckle. 

“What’s that…”  
“I’ve known you a long time Leroy,” Marcus began. “Did you ever feed from her when you were intimate?” Gibbs did not reply, turning as if to listen to something coming from the house. 

“She’s having a nightmare,” was all he said as he vanished, a light turning on in the bedroom facing the street. Marcus listened for a moment to his childe’s soothing commentary before turning and disappearing into the night. 


	4. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Hiatus

Jenny wasn’t entirely sure why she was surprised Gibbs suddenly became overprotective. It had been his modus operandi when they had been partners, but this was a whole other level of overprotective. The first weekend after her kidnapping, he barely left her slide with the exception of the evening when he left his wolf at night to protect her. She didn’t mind that part, the wolf was a part of him, and it made for a nice footwarmer on her bed. Jenny wasn’t entirely sure of all of his capabilities, but the wolf she knew was one of two options, a projection of him, she likened it to daemons from the children’s book  _ The Golden Compass _ , or it was him, as in the shifted forms. She knew he left the daemon behind at night, mainly because one night she woke from a nightmare to him rushing in and the wolf licking her arm. She was also aware he wasn’t sleeping, not that he needed a lot of sleep, but he needed some, and it was clear he was becoming fatigued, moving slower. 

If he was feeding, he was doing it out of her sight, and while once upon a time, she would have offered. She got the feeling if she did, he would reject it. So while at home, she dealt with him and the wolf. In the office, it was a bit more ridiculous. It wasn’t like a wolf could follow her around, despite Gibbs' preference for that. Instead, the first Monday back, she met Melvin, a young agent who was also a vampire. He had been changed twenty or so years ago and was relatively young in vampire age. Melvin had been an orphan and had fallen in with a bad crowd. His partner, Jonathan, had taken a liking to him and changed him to be his eternal companion. While Jonathan had been fine having little in the way of a job, having inherited money, Melvin felt a need to work. Gibbs had run into him on a case and gotten him into NCIS. This would be a promotion for the young man and ensure she had a very protective detail. 

Any protest had been ignored, and while Jenny didn’t have an issue with Melvin, vampire or otherwise, she did have a problem with Gibbs being overprotective. However, Gibbs had somehow managed to get SecNav to agree to it, and it was a done deal. The first few weeks, Jenny realized two things: she would have likely picked Melvin herself, and two, while Melvin owed Gibbs a debt of gratitude, he also recognized she had her skillset that did not require complete surveillance. He often let her do things, such as driving her car, and other everyday tasks that did not put her in immediate danger. The only exception seemed to be meetings that were not in her office. He would be right behind her. That, of course, had worked in her favor during a budget meeting when Melvin had quietly hidden a chuckle after one of the other directors turned down Jenny’s request for funding for a new mass spec saying the FBI could handle it. Melvin’s chuckle had gotten Jenny’s attention, and she turned to find him discreetly texting something, her phone vibrating in her lap a second later. 

_ He is afraid that if you get a Massspec Ms.Scuito will be requested to run cases, as she has a much lower contamination rate.  _

Of course, Jenny used this knowledge to her advantage, and Abby was happy with the new mass spec. 

On the other hand, Gibbs did not like the fact that he could not assign himself to her detail. He recognized that it would be too overbearing, particularly after Ducky commented. His conversation with Marcus troubled him as well. It was true; vampires could not outright lie to each other. They could theoretically skirt the truth. Gibbs had done just that by not answering Marcus’ question, not sure he wanted the answer. It didn’t stop him from following her home every night and making sure his wolf kept watch over her while she slept. He also found that he didn’t feel as if she was in danger by staying in headquarters when she was there. He’d taken to only leaving when there was a case, even drinking coffee from the breakroom, much to DiNozzo’s and McGee’s horror. Ziva, on the other hand, seemed to watch him and her friend intently, and Gibbs wondered just what Ziva knew about their previous relationship. 

Throughout the weeks after the kidnapping, it seemed as if the whole team held its breath to see what would happen between Gibbs and the Director. No one dared question it, nor did anyone outside of the agency even suspect. Indeed, the tension couldn’t last forever, and one of them would break. Or something would spoil it for them. 

* * *

Jenny had been thrilled to find out Gibbs had a case the same night she was supposed to attend dinner at the White House. They had argued several times in the preceding days about his overprotectiveness and, more importantly, about what was going on between them. She encouraged the team to follow up every lead, make sure they stayed on it. Jenny was regretting that as Melvin rushed her to the hospital. She walked straight up to the woman on duty in the window. 

“Condition of Special Agent Jethro Gibbs,” she demanded. 

“Trauma One. No condition listed yet.” The nurse replied. Jenny headed for the doors. “You can't go in there, Director. It's restricted.... to medical personnel.” 

“This isn't about turf, you know,” Jenny said, standing near the door. 

“Oh, I know that. It's about rules. And one huge one is, non-medical people, cannot enter Trauma One....unless they're carried in,” the nurse, Nurse Washington it seemed, replied. 

“Get me a gurney,” Jenny said snarkily. 

“That's good. Get me a gurney! Haha! I like that,” Nurse Washington laughed. 

“I left a dinner at the White House to come here,” Jenny stated. 

“I'm impressed. Really, I am. That still doesn't change the rules.” Jenny walked over and set her clutch on the ledge, reaching into. 

“I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this.”

“Shooting your way in?” Nurse Washington asked. 

“Don't be silly. I don't have my weapon,” Jenny replied sweetly. 

“Calling the President?” The nurse teased. 

“Now that would be overkill,” Jenny said, pressing speed dial two. 

“Hello?”

“Condi? Jenny.” 

“Any word yet?”

“ No. I don't have his condition yet,” Jenny said into the phone. 

“Well, why not?” Came the harsh reply. 

“The head nurse won't let me into Trauma,” 

“Let me speak with her,” came the demand. Jenny handed the phone over. 

“Ethel Washington, Ma'am,” 

“Condoleeza Rice,” was all Jenny heard as Nurse Washington looked up in surprise. 

“Yes, Ma'am. I understand,” Nurse Washington reassured the other woman and handed Jenny back the phone. 

“Thank you, Condi,” Jenny said, hanging up and staring at the Nurse. Nurse Washington pressed the button, and Jenny was through the doors before she could blink. She found Gibbs’ room with little trouble, the team lurking outside. After getting an update from the Doctor, Jenny realized she would have to act quickly and efficiently to make sure Gibbs' secret stayed a secret. Given her persuasion powers, she found it easy to inform the doctors that she would be staying with him. As soon as they left her alone, Jenny checked the IV and noticed the fluids. She carefully pulled out the pocket knife she carried everywhere and pierced her thumb. A red drop of blood pooled at the top, and she very carefully dripped it into his mouth. 

She watched him for a few movements, his rapid eye movement increasing temporarily before stopping.  _ He’s not healing as he should; I have to get him out of here.  _ It wasn’t like she could slice her wrist in a hospital; the doctors might question that one. As the hours passed, she was plotting her escape. Ducky finally arrived at around three in the morning, and Jenny greeted him at the door. After the doctors did their check, Ducky did his virtual check. 

“I’m surprised,” Ducky replied after a minute. 

“About?” 

“He is usually a fast healer, almost unnaturally so,” Ducky remarked. Jenny shrugged. “He is getting the best care, Jennifer.” 

“It could be better,” Jenny said after a minute. “I have...concerns.” 

“Concerns?” Ducky echoed. 

“This whole case, everything. I just...want to be sure.” 

“You think we should move him for protection?” Ducky deciphered. 

“Yes,” Jenny agreed,  _ just not his protection. _

“And where would we move him?” 

“There’s a black site,” Jenny replied immediately, making eye contact with the good doctor. He seemed surprised by that claim. 

“Very well, can the team assist?” 

“Yes,” Jenny confirmed before turning back to her bedside vigil. Ducky made some phone calls, and very quickly, the team assembled along with Melvin, who claimed he was there for the Director, but Jenny knew otherwise. 

Jenny insisted on staying by his side, going so far as to keep one hand on his the entire time. During the transport, Ducky remarked about the small cut on her thumb. Jenny informed him she got a paper cut while flipping through his chart. A white lie that he seemed to believe. Melvin offered her a band-aid, but she turned it down, and he seemed to be the only one to notice that every so often, she placed her hand on Gibbs’ face, close to his mouth. Jenny hoped that the blood would keep him appeased. 

When they arrived at the black site, a large gothic mansion, Jenny directed the team down to the basement where there were no windows, a state of the art operating suite, plenty of lounge space, and a large bed for him to hooked up to. As the team got Gibbs’ settled and the doctors checked on him, Melvin pulled Jenny aside. 

“I believe we’ve been followed,” Melvin informed her. The redhead glanced toward the doorway. 

“Who?” 

“I believe you’re familiar with him,” Melvin said and in a flash, he was gone. Minutes later he appeared to be frog-marching an older man into the basement suite. 

“Who are you?” DiNozzo demanded, stopping Melvin. 

“Mike Franks,” the man replied. Jenny stepped closer, recognizing him and glaring. 

“And how did you find us?” Ziva questioned, flanking the Director. 

“Your lady director called me,” the man replied. 

“I did,” Jenny agreed after a minute. “He was Gibbs’ old boss; the doctors treating Gibbs at Bethesda said he had been in a coma before; Franks might know something.” The team nodded, and Jenny stepped closer, with only Melvin trying to stop her. 

“Director,” He warned. 

“I know you,” Jenny reminded the elder man. “Marcus,” she hissed. “You make one wrong move, harm a hair on any of their heads, and I’ll let Gibbs off his leash.” 

“You cannot hope to control a vampire in a blood rage,” Marcus warned her. 

“I have in the past,” Jenny revealed. “I have more confidence in that happening again.” 

“Hm…” 

“Do you agree? Or I’ll refuse your invitation right now.” 

“I agree, for his sake,” Marcus confirmed. “He’s going to need a lot of blood.” 

“I’m aware,” Jenny replied. 

“Director Shepard you can’t mean,” Melvin interrupted. 

“He’s done it before,” Jenny stated. 

“And that was when you were his partner, not his boss,” Marcus reminded. “He might hurt you, you are incredibly high profile. It would be best to find a sacrifice.” 

“No,” Jenny refused. Marcus went to reach out to her but dropped his hand as if reminded of his previous run-in. “You can’t touch me.”

“Ah, he told you did he?” Marcus sighed. “Yes, you are protected so long as he lives, a blessing and a curse.” Jenny nodded as if it wasn’t new information to her. She was surprised it would last that long. 

“I will get the team to leave, work the case. I will remain behind and lock us in; how long do you think he’ll need?” 

“A couple of days for sure,” Marcus said. “I will stay in the area, should you need...drastic measures, call.” Marcus handed her a business card with a number printed on it. 

“Director Shepard, I must protest, Gibbs told me, under no circumstances should I leave your side,” Melvin said.

“Unless he was with me,” Jenny reminded. 

“Director, he would want me to…” 

“I am still the Director. I overrule him,” Jenny stated calmly. Melvin nodded, looking displeased. “I’ll need you to protect Ducky.” 

“Very well,” Melvin agreed. The two men watched as the redhead moved back to the team to convince them to go home. 

“Did you know he had claimed her?” Marcus asked Melvin. 

“I suspected,” Melvin replied. 

“You must keep an eye on her, if he does not finish the claim there could be problems,” Marcus said before turning and disappearing. Tony, McGee, Abby, and Ziva seemed to follow him being sent to complete their tasks while only Ducky remained standing next to the redhead. Melvin stepped closer as Ducky beckoned him. 

“Melvin, you must take the Director home,” Ducky demanded. 

“I am not going anywhere,” Jenny said. “I’m staying by him.” 

“All is not what it seems here,” Ducky said cryptically. Melvin turned his head as if assessing the situation anew. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jenny questioned. 

“I am a medical doctor, Jennifer. I deal in facts. Jethro might typically be a fast healer, unusually so, but things are just not normal.” 

“Like?”

“For example, in Cairo…”

“Ducky…” Jenny’s voice carried a warning. 

“In Cairo, you did not heal the way you did in Serbia,” was all Ducky said. 

“And?”

“Two years ago, Gibbs was knifed; he did not heal the same he did in Positano.” 

“So?”

“Gibbs is the common denominator here, while the two of you together, but more Gibbs.” 

“I’m not following Doctor,” Jenny snapped. Melvin shrugged, none of it made sense, other than it appeared Ducky had noticed something but not wanted to put a name to it. 

“You heal faster when he’s around you, he heals faster when you’re around.”

“So putting me in the room with him is going to hurt who exactly?” 

“What?” Ducky said his voice louder than normal.

“That’s what you’ll do; you will lock me in there with him. I will keep a two-way radio. You can monitor his condition from upstairs, but no one, unless Melvin clears them, should enter that room. If I miss a check-in within twenty-four hours, Melvin will have a call list, and he knows where the weapons cache is.” 

“You fear Jethro might turn violent during his recovery?” 

“People come out of a coma in weird ways, Doctor,” Melvin said with a shrug. “I”m sure Gibbs would be fine, but precautions are important.” 

“I think this is a terrible idea, Jennifer,” Ducky remarked. 

“You will seal us in,” Jenny ordered, and to Melvin’s surprise, the good doctor seemed to shrink in and complied with a nod of his head. They watched Jenny walk towards the bed. Gibbs rested on, sitting gently at his side and leaning down over him as if to whisper a secret. Ducky closed the door and was unable to watch more. 

“Did I do the right thing?” Ducky asked after a moment. 

“For them, you did,” Melvin comforted. “I’ll take the first watch.” Ducky nodded, leaving the command room. He turned back just as Melvin adjusted the cameras and watched to his great shock as Jenny pulled Gibbs up into her arms, tilting her neck to the side. He quickly turned on his feet, having a lot to think about, and left the room. 

Jenny was reminded of that old farmhouse in Serbia as she gathered Gibbs in her arms, carefully pulling him up, so his mouth was at her throat. She held her hand up again to his face, the metallic smell of blood lingering in the air. From her previous experience, she knew Gibbs’ other side would take over, and sure enough, seconds later, she felt a sharp pinch at her neck and then euphoria. She was always amazed by this part; it never hurt, not even as she felt faint and closed her eyes. She felt herself start to fall backward before a strong arm circled her, holding her in place. A brief smile graced her lips as she fell asleep in bliss. 

* * *

_ She is not okay; we must protect her _

_ Mate _ . 

All Gibbs heard throughout his head was his inner voice whispering to him. He had heard his inner vampire whisper in other dire situations, but it was just that, whispers he could never quite make out the words. This was as if the voice was screaming in his head. Gibbs knew when he became fully conscious, he would be in full vampire mode and would need to feed immediately. He half expected it when he heard the explosion. Gibbs had been lucky the last time he’d been in a coma that his doctor was also a vampire. Although it had not made his pain upon waking to find his family gone, even if Kelly had not biologically been his, he had loved her as such. Gibbs only hoped that this time his team, his children, had survived this explosion as well.  _ And that I didn’t…  _ he drifted off sifting through thoughts in his head,  _ Paris, white sheets, afternoon light, warm skin.  _ Gibbs sighed, coming out of his haze. He had drunk Jenny’s blood. Gibbs relaxed a moment ignoring his inner voice once more. Jenny must have been able to get him some of her blood to avoid any incidents. 

_ PROTECT!  _

His inner voice rang clear again, and this time, he opened his eyes. To a normal human, it would have been a very dark room with barely any light filtering. He carefully sat up only to feel a body next to his, a cold body.  _ What the… _ Turning to his side, he was shocked to find his former partner, dried blood on her shirt, chest barely moving.  _ Jenny, what the hell!  _

Gibbs quickly pulled her into his chest, hearing her heart beating erratically. Her pallor suggested he had nearly drained her. 

_ We must change her!  _

Absolutely not, was all Gibbs could think. The hell, he would change her. He would never subject her to this curse. 

_ She needs the change!  _

At this point he didn’t care what his inner voice was saying; he quickly pulled his wrist to his own lips and bit down. The blood carefully dripped into her mouth. He had once upon a time, used his blood to heal her, and hoped it would work again. Two voices filtered in over her heartbeat. 

“Jennifer?” 

“Give here a minute, Doc.” 

“Jennifer, are you there?”  _ Ducky _ ,  _ Melvin _ , Gibbs recognized. 

“It’s Gibbs,” he replied, grabbing the walkie sitting just out of reach of her hand and laying her back down. 

“Ah Jethro, I’m surprised you’re awake. Is Jennifer still with you?” 

“She’s sleeping,” Gibbs answered. 

“Is she Sir?” Melvin inquired, and it seemed as if he was asking a different question. 

“Melvin, what is she doing here?” Gibbs demanded. 

“She refused to leave your side, Agent Gibbs,” Melvin stated. “I tried to convince her to take a break and sleep. I guess she finally just fell asleep.” Gibbs’ growl was barely audible, but he knew Melvin heard it. 

“I should come and check on you Jethro,” Ducky insisted. 

“No, I’m fine, I’ll just sleep some more,” Gibbs tried. The last thing he needed was their long time friend to discover his secret. 

“Sir, I can come and get…” Melvin started.  _ KEEP HER WITH US!  _ Gibbs felt his fangs drop again and turned away from the radio. 

“You had better not,” Gibbs warned and then, clearing his throat, tried for levity. “Ducky can tell you; she hates to be woken up. We’ll check in tomorrow.” Gibbs turned off teh radio not needing to hear the response as he felt the redhead by his side stir. 

“Jethro,” her voice was barely a whisper, her hand reaching out before seeming to realize that he wasn’t there. Suddenly he smelled her adrenaline spike as she struggled to move. “Jethro!” 

“I’m fine,” he said curtly. 

“Are you?” She seemed more alert now. 

“Yes. You, however, are not.” 

“Why not?” She asked carefully. 

“You’re an idiot, Jen,” He hissed. “You are the director of a Federal Agency!” 

“Yes, and I have still been doing my goddamn job,” Jenny snapped, sitting up. 

“Do you get that I could have killed you?” 

“You wouldn’t have,” Jenny assured. He growled. 

“You locked yourself in a room with a bloodthirsty vampire! There was nothing to stop me from blood rage.” 

“I locked myself in a room with you, there’s a difference,” Jenny argued. “And even when you’ve been in a blood rage, you haven’t come near me!” 

“Because there were other targets!” 

“You would not have hurt me,” Jenny seemed rather convinced. 

“I could have without meaning to,” Gibbs reminded. 

“Not likely.” With a growl, she felt him grab her by her arms and haul her to feet. She had not felt his real strength before, but she suspected he was still incapable of hurting her and barely flinched with the movement. He quickly pinned her against the wall, snarling at her. 

“What do you desire, Jen?” He whispered in her ear, and she felt herself recede, fantasies rushing to the forefront of her brain. Gibbs felt her go lax, and her thoughts swirl through his head in a rush that shocked him out of his fury. He quickly pulled away from her, holding her at arm’s length. “Shit, Jen!” His shout seemed to wake her, and her eyes hardened into a glare. 

“You done with your fit now?” She snarked. 

“Are you okay?” He asked gently leading her to the bed and guiding her to sit. “I didn’t mean…” 

“You didn’t hurt me, Jethro,” Jenny sighed. “I’m fairly certain you’re incapable of that.” She held up her palm, his mark there. 

“I didn’t think...I didn’t mean to put you in a trance,” he fumbled with his half-apology.

“Careful, think you might be breaking a rule,” She said tiredly. 

“Jenny,” his voice was hard and stern, and she looked up at him. 

“This is the price you’re going to pay, Jethro. If you don’t tell the team, if you don’t share your burden. If I am the only one who knows, then this is how things are going to go,” Jenny explained. Gibbs felt as if she’d sucker-punched him with that and he stepped away from her. The door cracked open and Melvin carefully peered around, turning the lights on. “Melvin.”

“Sorry Director, Doctor Mallard insisted on checking on you both.” 

“Likely before you have one of your epic rows,” Ducky said, coming in behind him. 

“Shit,” Gibbs heard Jenny whisper. He turned to watch her fumble for her shirt neck as if to pull it higher and Gibbs suddenly realized what she was trying to hide. He stepped in front of her. 

“Alright, Duck, if you’re going to poke and prod me…” 

“Actually, I was more interested in checking on Jennifer,” Ducky replied. 

“I’m the one who got blown up,” Gibbs reminded. 

“And you seem well on the mend,” Ducky commented suspiciously. Melvin was suddenly between them. 

“Doctor Mallard, Director Shepard has already declined treatment and technically she’s within her rights to,” Melvin interrupted. “If Agent Gibbs is on the mend as well, perhaps we should leave them be or Director if you prefer, I can take you home?” 

“Take Doctor Mallard home,” Jenny ordered. “We’re fine here, aren’t’ we?” 

“Yea, Duck, I’m just gonna lie around, promise we won’t argue,” Gibbs said, giving a salute. Ducky did not believe his two friends, and Gibbs realized just how stubborn the good doctor to be. “Honestly, Ducky, it’s fine, go with Melvin,” Gibbs tried again, his voice taking a more comforting tone. Jenny carefully kept her face neutral, but Melvin’s raised eyebrow was correct in her thought process. She didn’t say a word until Ducky had left with Melvin. 

“You don’t put people in a trance, do you?” 

“I hadn’t put you in a trance; there’s a difference,” Gibbs parroted. “Would you rather a different conversation?” 

“I am not ashamed,” Jenny said quietly. Gibbs paused in his pacing, just long enough for the phone to ring. Jenny answered it. “DiNozzo, what do you want?”

“Director, we’ve needed to talk to Mike Franks again, it seems Gibbs...um… he had a family…” Jenny tuned out DiNozzo for a moment, knowing the Gibbs could hear what he was saying.  _ So they’ve figured out his secret, they know about Sarah…  _ “They both died on ni February 1991.” 

“What?” Jenny interrupted her thoughts, suddenly processing what DiNozzo was saying. “1991?” 

“He woke up from a coma to find his wife and daughter had been killed, drug violence. They never caught the guy,” DiNozzo repeated through the phone. 

“I see. Send me the file,” Jenny ordered, closing the phone. 

“I may not have told you the whole truth,” Gibbs said after a minute. 

“Was she…”  
“No,” _Mate is upset_. Jenny said nothing. Silence filled the space. Gibbs could feel his two halves warring with each other. “Where are we?” 

“A black site, I took control of it when I became Director,” Jenny answered. “We’re about two hours from the office.” 

“Why?” Jenny did not reply, merely staring off to the side. “I think...I think I need some time,” Gibbs started. 

“How long?”  
“I…” He was cut off by the phone ringing again, to his surprise, it was both of them.

“Shepard.” He watched her, trying not to overhear what the person was telling her, knowing in his heart that he had failed in two places. She hung up after exchanging brief words with the other person. 

“I didn’t think I could ever quit,” Gibbs started. “Until now. The terrorists took out the target.”  
“They did.” 

“I was wrong.”  
“You were not wrong, Jethro.” 

“I nearly killed you, I could have killed the team, and we still didn’t get them.” 

“Stop the fucking pity party!” Jenny shouted. “You did your best, and…”

“No, I’ve been off for a while. I need to leave here for a while,” Gibbs argued. “I need space from all of this until I know I can be around the team and not…” Gibbs stepped away from her and headed for the door. Jenny watched as he left, the door staying open behind him. 

It was just hours later; he was standing in front of DiNozzo and handing him his gun. Jenny watched from the catwalk as he saluted the team. She waited until they left to retreat to her office. It was one more hour before Ducky sat in the chair across from her desk. 

“I read about the case, his family,” Ducky said after sitting. “Did you…”  
“We didn’t discuss the past.” 

“It says they never caught him, the man who killed his wife and child,” Ducky explained. “It’s still an open case.”  
“You can close it. Jethro got his man,” Jenny promised. 

“Jennifer, what is he?” Ducky asked.

“He’s Gibbs.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, this is just...well for lack of a better word hiatus. Our immortal and favorite Director will be back for Chapter 5. 
> 
> Just as soon as I finish grading 100 lab reports.


	5. Noon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gibbs is called back from Mexico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things:   
> 1) I updated the chapter titles (yes it looks like it might be more than 7 chapters.   
> 2) This chapter contains dialogue from several Season 4 episodes. This is obviously not mine but used with love. 
> 
> Okay, three things:   
> Jenny's little pep talk has always been one of my favorite scenes between them.

Gibbs didn’t know what to expect when he arrived in Mexico. He had learned his old mentor, Mike Franks, had retired there, but he wasn’t sure he was still alive. They hadn’t exactly spoken in a long time. Gibbs just knew he needed to get away, away from NCIS, from the team, from Jenny.  _ No.  _ His inner voice was firmly against the latter, but Gibbs ignored it, as he had for these past centuries. It wasn’t a warning, it was just displeased, and Gibbs wasn’t exactly sure what it had to be displeased about.  _ She left us, remember?  _ He would often throwback, but the voice didn’t stop. 

When he got to the last address for Mike, he found a small cabin on the beach. Palm trees with a hammock set up. He dropped his bag on the porch and knocked on the door. Not hearing an answer, he entered. 

“Mike?” He called. 

“Probie.” Gibbs turned around and found, to his surprise Marcus standing behind him. 

“Where’s Franks?” Gibbs demanded. 

“He died a year ago,” Marcus informed. “I know you got the invitation to the funeral.” 

“I didn’t think…” Gibbs trailed off, remembering that he had thought it was a joke. “What are you doing here?” 

“Franks was an...employee of mine,” Marcus replied. 

“Keeping tabs?”

“Am I wrong to? After all, you are my kin,” Marcus reminded. Gibbs flashed his fangs but said nothing. “Your lady director knows who I am.” 

“Why were you anywhere near her? I thought I had made it clear she’s off-limits,” Gibbs demanded. 

“I did not harm her, nor will I. I have monitored her, and when you had your incident, well...I was concerned she would do something drastic. I approached the team in the guise of Mike Franks. That’s who they’ll know me as now,” Marcus explained. 

“You were there?” Gibbs clarified. 

“I was.”

“Why the fuck would you let her lock herself in the room with a bloodthirsty vampire?” Gibbs exploded, moving to go for his maker’s throat. 

“Ah ah,” Marcus taunted, sidestepping him. “Do not challenge me, Childe.” Gibbs backed off but kept his fangs bared. “I could not stop her. As you have protected her, none of us can lay a hand on her.” 

“You could have ordered Melvin; you could have put her in a trance…” 

“Oh, and faced your rage? I think not,” Marcus said. “She’s strong, for a mortal.” Gibbs agreed with this but turned to face the ocean waves. 

“She’s still mortal.” 

“You can fix that,” Marcus reminded. 

“Never.” 

“Do not say never, boy,” Marcus warned. “She is a gift, one you should not scorn.” 

“My inner vampire...it called her mate. I thought those were a myth.” 

“Not for us,” Marcus said softly. “And if that’s what your instincts called her, it explains quite a bit about your claim.” 

“What did I do to her?” 

“I see why you didn’t answer when I asked about intimacy. You have claimed her,” Marcus said. “Marked her if you will. You will be the only one who can change her now.”

“Can I undo it?” 

“Would you want to?” Gibbs said nothing. “I suggest you answer that question before you decide to look for answers to yours.” 

“You’re not telling me something. Is there more I need to know?” Gibbs asked. Marcus simply smiled and gestured toward the cabin. 

“The cabin is yours. I will not be intrusive, but I will also not be far away. Do not forget to feed.” And with that, Marcus wandered off down the beach. Gibbs being left with more questions than answers. 

* * *

Three months passed, and for the first time, Gibbs wondered what it would be like for the remaining centuries he knew he had ahead. NCIS would not always be there; the world was becoming more and more obsessed with technology. Technology that would try to use his kind. Gibbs had considered what centuries alone would do; he hadn’t moved in nearly twenty years, perhaps this time away would be an excellent time to break ties, move to another identity. He hadn’t had to since he had largely lost contact with everyone from his Still Water and Marine Corp days. 

He had spoken more with his kind in the last few months than he had in the past century. He was talking to others who had come to visit Marcus. He was never quite sure why Marcus seemed to be staying only that he would need to leave at the end of summer to head to England for a previous engagement. 

Overall he had not discovered an answer to his question, nor the one Marcus had asked. Instead, he kept busy, working on the roof of the cabin, the deck, fishing, anything that kept his mind off the topics. Marcus would occasionally join in the fishing but, for the most part, left him to be. However, he would keep an eye on him while on the roof and when people from the small town came to visit. One of the women, Rosario, had taken a liking to them both and would come in the late afternoon to bring them drinks from the Cantina. Today, she was early. 

“Hola Gentlemen,” She greeted.

“She sure isn’t talking about us, Probie,” Marcus retorted. 

“You, no, Senor Gibbs, Si,” Rosario replied. “Senor Gibbs, you have a phone call at the Cantina. 

“Who is it?” Gibbs asked, climbing down from the roof.

“A woman. And she sounded muy upset,” Rosario explained. Marcus sat up straight. 

“Probably that lady director of yours, missing you,” Marcus taunted with a snort.

Gibbs simply glared, grabbing the cell phone from Rosario and stalking off down the beach. “Something I said?” Marcus inquired. Rosario simply rolled her eyes and sat down next to Marcus, waiting. 

“Yeah, Gibbs,” he answered the phone. 

“Hola,” came the much younger voice than he was expecting. “Uh, how's Mexico?”

“Ziva,” he said softly. “How'd you get this number?”

“From Abby. And if it helps, I forced it out of her,” Ziva replied, forcing a small laugh. 

“No. It doesn't. What's wrong?” 

“Why does something always have to be wrong?” Ziva asked. “Can't l just speak with an old friend? Do a little catching up?” 

“Today, Ziva,” Gibbs demanded. He heard her sigh. 

“Okay. I may be in a little bit of trouble,” she confessed.

“Yeah? Define little,” Gibbs pressed, figuring she and Jenny had fought. 

“I am currently on the run from the FBI, NCIS, Mossad, and my father.” 

“What'd you do?” Gibbs inquired softly, surprised. 

“I did nothing, Gibbs. I swear, I did nothing,” Ziva protested. 

“Where's DiNozzo?”

“He can't help me,” Ziva replied. 

Well, you should talk to Jenny. Jenny can help you,” Gibbs suggested, already knowing what was coming. 

“I can't.”

“Ziva, look, I'm retired, I'm 3,000 miles away. What do you think I can do that they can't do?” Gibbs tried. 

“Honestly, I don't know,” Ziva replied brokenly. “l was hoping, maybe...save me?” And damn if that didn’t get to him. He had heard the scared little girl hidden away inside the Mossad agent, and it tugged at his heartstrings. Gibbs knew he’d be leaving the beach behind as soon as humanly possible and probably using nonhuman methods to get to DC as quickly as possible, and likely his first stop would not be Ziva. 

* * *

DC was cold. Gibbs needed to remember that the next time he decided just to use his power to fly. Marcus had warned him, but as usual, he felt he knew his limits. Gibbs was slightly dizzy when he became stable again, just inside the morgue’s darkened room within NCIS. He checked his appearance and then headed for the elevator, knowing his first stop would need to be his old partner. 

Cynthia was sitting at her desk and did not even attempt to call him back, merely nodding as he opened the door to the Director’s office. His breath nearly left him at sight. 

“I really miss that view,” he started. “Harbour isn't bad either.” He could feel her smile more than see it. The tension in her shoulders left for a moment as she turned to face him. 

“I had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon, Jethro,” Jenny greeted. “How is she?”

“She's scared. Not that she'll ever admit that,” Gibbs answered. 

“NCIS can't help her,” Jenny sighed. 

“Well, see, that's why I'm here. I'm not NCIS. I retired, remember?”

“I shouldn't even be talking to you,” Jenny reminded. 

“Anyone asks, just tell them two old partners catching up,” Gibbs suggested. 

“My agency has been harboring a foreign operative for over a year. One that I personally vouched for and insisted we needed,” Jenny explained. 

“She didn't do it.”

“You think I don't know that? I'm telling you what they're saying all over the beltway. I give it 24 hours before they ask for my resignation.” 

“Don't give it to them,” Gibbs warned, going on to explain what he had managed to get out of Ziva. Jenny thought a moment before looking out the window again. 

“I could think of several countries and a dozen terrorist groups that fit that bill.” 

“Oh yea, I can too,” Gibbs agreed before pressing on, “Which is why I want you to do me a favor?” 

“Name it,” Jenny answered, and if Gibbs was surprised that she would be willing to grant him any favor he asked, he hid it carefully. 

“It’s late. Go home, catch up on some sleep.”

“Plausible deniability?” 

“Yeah, something like that,” Gibbs said with a chuckle. Jenny nodded. He could feel her wanting to ask him more, and he knew he needed to stop whatever question came. “I’m not back, Jen, just helping out a friend.” 

“I was just talking about your hair,” Jenny interrupted. “It's good to see it long again. It reminds me of when we were undercover in Serbia.”

“Serbia?” He echoed.

“Do you remember that little farmhouse we were holed up in? A whole week with nothing to do but…”

“No,” Gibbs cut her off as memories rushed through his head. No, I don't, Jen. Memory is a little fuzzy on some things,” he forced himself to say. He hated lying to her, but well, he could remember what she was talking about. It wasn’t just their carnal activities he could remember. He could remember her, frightened in the woods, offering him herself entirely, blood and all. With what he’d learned from Marcus, he did not need the reminder of how he’d corrupted her. 

It did not take him much to stay this time; Ziva asking for help had awoken something inside him again. Fornell coming just days after clearing Ziva’s name and asking for assistance was just the next domino. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that Jenny turned up after the conclusion of the case. He had seen a side of her when she revealed his retirement package hadn’t been filed. A side Gibbs remembered all too well from their days as part; she was at least still thinking of them as partners. Gibbs wondered if she missed having someone watch her back as he had in her first days as Director. 

He hadn’t lied about the explosion leading to some memory loss, but he had lied about remembering. The memory loss had been temporary, and it hadn’t been days into his recovery in Mexico that he had recognized several things about his former partner. Things that had at first made him want to stay far away from her to avoid cursing her. But now, as he heard her feet on the stairs, he thought that maybe the best way to protect her would be to do what he had always done, watch her back. 

“I just came by to tell you that Derrick Paulson has been cleared of all charges,” Jenny announced as she sat down her purse on the workbench. He looked up at her. “You saved that boy's life.”

“He did most of the work,” Gibbs replied. 

“Don't sell yourself short,” Jenny said with a sigh, “Or is it too late for that?”

“This supposed to be some sort of pep talk to get me to stay, Jen?” He said before looking away. “You don't want me back.”

“No, I don't,” Jenny answered. He knew with one sniff she was lying. 

“Worried you won't be able to handle me, director?” Gibbs taunted, trying to rile her. To his surprise, she didn’t take the bait. 

“No, Jethro,” She said sadly. “I'm afraid you won't be able to handle yourself. You have already been in two comas. You might not come out of a third,” Jenny explained. “The fact is you're good. The best. When you're as good at something as you are, when you can make a difference like you can, you just don't quit.” 

“I…” 

“Regardless of what you decide, you know you’ll need to make another decision as well. I have never once broken my promise, and I do not intend to do so now,” Jenny continued using the hand with his mark to touch his shoulder gently as she walked past him and out of the basement. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new enemy comes to town, Jenny develops some new abilities, Gibbs is concerned, and then there's the Frog of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter loosely follows along with Season 4. Some dialogue which is not mine but used with love. 
> 
> I hope everyone had a good Holiday! I'm going to try and finish this before the New Year but certainly, I think it will be wrapped by end of January.

Gibbs wasn’t sure what surprised him more, the way things had changed or the way in some respects they just stayed the same. He had first noticed something off about DiNozzo within days of resuming his team leadership. It didn’t take him long to link that to how Jenny avoided meeting his eyes when they spoke. The first time she did give him a look was shortly after he met Colonel Hollis Mann. 

Gibbs was more aware of his type than perhaps his team realized, and yes, Hollis Mann was his type, despite the lack of red hair. Two things told him right away it would never work, the first Abby despised her. This wasn’t a huge surprise, Gibbs rationalized. Abby had issues with change; it had taken her months to warm up to Jenny and Ziva. The problem Gibbs quickly discovered was that they had become very close during his Margarita Safari, as Jenny referred to it. Abby’s dislike, unfortunately, spread to the rest of the team. So perhaps it wasn’t just that Abby despised her; the whole team, in fact, was against the woman. 

The second was his nature. The vampire had been disinterested to the extreme. Gibbs considered it might be the product of the summer, that the vampire within was too consumed in getting answers to consider a relationship. Gibbs thought this out of all his doubts was the crux. He had too much to think about to give Hollis the attentions she would deserve. So he had rebuffed her and had not called her back. Focusing on the team and rebuilding his relationships with them. Culminating in a very long discussion with Ducky, one he’d be happy Jenny had interrupted. 

“I am sorry, Ducky,” Gibbs said quietly. “I should have told you.” 

“I should have told you something months ago, “ Ducky sighed. “Welcome home.” He extended his hand, and Gibbs took it. The two men embraced, just as Jenny came down the stairs. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” she called, coming into the bullpen. 

“Director,” Ducky greeted, stepping back. “You’re here late.” 

“Glad to see the two of you made up,” Jenny teased softly. “And yes, it’s late. I’m hoping you have a reason for why I don’t have to turn over this smoked serial killer to the FBI.” 

“The hell, Jen,” Gibbs complained. 

“It makes Gibbs cranky,” Jenny sighed, gesturing to the other man. 

“So I see. Actually, I might have something that would keep it in NCIS jurisdiction.” Ducky gestured for the two of them to follow him. They headed down to autopsy, where Ducky showed Gibbs the small puncture marks. 

“Murder,” Gibbs concluded. 

“Most definitely,” Ducky confirmed. 

“On a Marine base, which means its NCIS jurisdiction,” Jenny agreed. “I can’t wait to rip up the orders.” 

“Try not to sound happy, Director,” Ducky sighed, watching as Gibbs smirked at the redhead before turning to escort her out. “Director…” Ducky called after a minute and watched as the two turned toward each other before turning back to him. “I believe Agent Gibbs should have regular check-ins with a doctor.” 

“Why?” Jenny asked, glancing back at her former partner. 

“I think you would agree that perhaps he physically healed a little too quickly from the explosion.” 

“I would not,” Jenny protested, stepping in front of Gibbs slightly. It was Gibbs that stopped her from moving forward, gently grabbing her waist. 

“We’ve been friends a long time Jethro,” Ducky reminded again. 

“It wasn’t just not talking about my family that has you upset,” Gibbs considered. 

“No,” Ducky agreed. “It’s something I noticed many years ago, particularly between the two of you. Jennifer nearly died in Cairo.” 

“Ducky!” Jenny warned. 

“You nearly died in Positano, Jethro. You should have died in that explosion,” Ducky continued to explain. “These are medical marvels that no amount of luck or even a good doctor could explain.” 

“What are you asking me?” Gibbs questioned. 

“What are you?” Ducky asked. 

“He’s a human being, Doctor Mallard, and you are approaching insubordination,” Jenny threatened again, stepping in front of Gibbs. 

“Ah, so you do know, Jennifer,” Ducky sighed. “That’s progress; I suppose I should be grateful you told her about your family.” 

“Is that what this is about?” Gibbs snapped. “Because I never told Jen either.” 

“Than what secret are the two of you keeping?” Ducky demanded. 

“We are not…”

“Jen,” Gibbs stopped her. “He needs to know.” Jenny nodded to him, observing the Doctor as Gibbs let his fangs drop. “I’m rather hard to kill, Ducky. Product of being a vampire, I’m afraid.” 

“A vampire,” Ducky repeated. “That would explain the incredible healing ability, “ the good doctor pondered. “There’s a Doctor Zoe Hellsing that has some papers….I suppose I should… and you, Jennifer?” 

“She’s mortal,” Gibbs said. “Blood of the vampire can assist in healing.” Ducky simply nodded. “Ducky…”

“It does not change who you are, Jethro,” Ducky said softly, extending his hand again to his friend. Jenny smiled at the two. 

“Well, we should all get home,” Jenny announced. “No doubt Fornell will be here bright and early to try and claim the case.” The two men nodded, and Gibbs headed out, turning to see Jenny lingering in autopsy. 

“Jen,” he called. The redhead looked over and nodded to him before leaning over to Ducky as if to kiss his cheek. Gibbs could see her mouth move and turned to focus on his vampire senses. 

_ “If you ever tell anyone what you learned, I will kill you, Doctor, and that is a promise.”  _

_ “I would expect nothing less from you, Jennifer.”  _

Gibbs let the words of his two closest friends wash over him. He had watched Jenny’s body language, that of a predator, not unlike his owns, making a subtle but confident threat. He reached out to put his hand on her back as she came alongside him, trying to ignore the rightness he felt in action. 

* * *

A few short weeks later, Gibbs was trying to remember that feeling as he watched Jenny deal with Colonel Hollis Mann. The woman had returned with the return of Sharif, and Gibbs was less than pleased. He had been surprised that Mann still seemed interested in him. It was certainly flattering, Gibbs considered, but he was still not interested. 

Gibbs had heard the argument brewing between Jenny and Hollis, he knew it was coming long before the two had even started. According to Ducky, Jenny was acting peculiar, and Hollis saw her as competition. Gibbs didn’t understand that. 

_ “My point is that I almost lost him six months ago, and I don't want a repeat!” _

Ah, okay, so that could explain Jenny’s peculiar behavior. She was worried about him but trying very hard to keep her peace.  _ It does not help that our Mate is not assured of us. His _ inner vampire needed to quit with the mate idea. Gibbs was still not ready to answer Marcus’s questions about it and, as a result, avoided it altogether, acting as if all were normal. As he collapsed, succumbing to the poison, he could have sworn he heard her voice calling his name. 

Jenny, meanwhile, had been feeling off the whole day, and she knew it was more than just the return of Hollis Mann. She took comfort in the fact, Gibbs had not called the other woman, but still, something about her, about the case, bugged Jenny and caused her senses to revolt. Later that afternoon, as she sat at her desk, she felt as if her heart was being pulled out of her chest.  _ Jethro _ ! Her mind, as if it could summon him to her, showed her a flash of him laying on the cold ground. She was already dialing McGee’s number when she came out of it and, to her surprise, found Melvin standing in front of her. 

“We need to go to the hospital,” Jenny stated. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Melvin agreed, grabbing her coat and offering it to her. “Ma’am?” They were out the door as she glanced over her shoulder at him. 

“Are you alright?” 

“I don’t know,” Jenny sighed. The silence between them was broken as Jenny’s phone beeped and she saw a text message from Gibbs. 

“Is that?” 

“He’s asking me to come, now,” Jenny revealed, clutching the phone. “Can you…” 

“Transfer you that distance?” Melvin pressed. “I am not as talented as he is, but I can drive faster.” Jenny laughed softly at that, staring out the window as the hospital came into view. Melvin stayed as her shadow, following her through the halls and past the team, who did not seem all that surprised to see her. Jenny was entirely focused on the door, Ducky stood in front of and getting through it that she missed the person glaring at her. Melvin did not, and as soon as he saw her to the good Doctor’s side, he turned down the hall following the glimpse of blonde hair. 

“She’s got her in claws in him,” Hollis said into the phone she had pressed to her hear. Melvin could not listen to who she was talking to. “It is not fair, but I will wait, and I will have my revenge on that vampire bitch.” 

Melvin considered it was an interesting choice of words but smirked. Whoever this woman was, and she was not a vampire, Melvin knew that for a fact, she seemed to think Jenny might be one.  _ Won’t she be disappointed _ . Melvin decided that for now, he too would watch and wait. He returned to the doorway where Doctor Mallard stood looking in the room at the redhead sitting carefully on the side of the bed of her ailing agent. 

Jenny felt relief as she entered the hospital room to find Gibbs awake and coherent. He looked up at her as she came to stand by the bed. He gently tapped the space on the bed next to him, and she sat carefully. 

“Hello, Jethro,” she greeted softly. 

“Jen,” he returned before taking a breath. “I didn’t...I know I shouldn’t tempt fate, but I need to know it’s my mind,” he explained. 

“That almost sounds like an apology,” Jenny considered. “Don’t apologize.” 

“You got your knife?” He asked. She nodded, angling her body to block any view of what might happen. She carefully pricked her finger and brought it up to his lips. Gibbs grabbed her wrist as the first drops of blood fell into his mouth.  _ Something is different _ , he thought again. “Jen?”

“It’s okay, Jethro,” Jenny promised, pressing her other hand to his shoulder. Jenny left him at the hospital after an hour and had Melvin take her straight home. The fatigue she expected to feel, had always felt in the past, failed to come; instead, there was a headache and a searing pain in her chest. Melvin walked her into the house and did a quick security check before stopping outside. 

“Director,” he called softly, and Jenny appeared from the study. “You have a guest.” 

“You’re not who I expected,” Jenny remarked, seeing Marcus in the entryway. “You can go, Melvin.” Melvin nodded and stepped around the elder vampire closing the door behind him. “He’s fine, by the way.” 

“I know he is,” Marcus replied. “It’s you I’ve come to see.” 

“You know you cannot harm me,” Jenny reminded.

“I have no wish to harm you. I have come because I believe you have questions.” 

“And you have the answers, is that it?” 

“I have some answers, though perhaps not ones you wish to hear.” 

“Did he change me?” Jenny asked. 

“Not yet,” Marcus answered.

“Yet?” Jenny echoed. 

“You cannot deny things are different; instead of fatigue, you feel as if your heart is stopping. Yet, there are moments when you feel you could conquer the world. Your voice holds more power; you can sway mortals with a single word. Still, your heart does not respond to people, save one.” 

“That was a problem I long ago realized,” Jenny retorted with a smirk. 

“He has marked you; you will not be able to form any other romantic attachment,” Marcus informed. 

“He always was jealous,” Jenny said with a shrug. 

“He is an idiot, thinking that he does not wish to curse you, not realizing he already has,” Marcus concluded. “You might also want to tell him about your side project.” 

“Why?” Marcus did not reply, merely tilting his head to her and leaving. Melvin appeared shortly after. 

“Gibbs is back home,” he announced.

“Good,” Jenny replied. 

“Colonel Mann thinks you’re a vampire,” he revealed. 

“Does she?” Melvin nodded. “Good,” Jenny stated. “And Le Grenouille?” 

“Tony’s getting close; Marcus is probably right. You should tell Gibbs.” 

“He will not be happy.” And Jenny was correct in that belief just a day later. 

* * *

Jenny was surprised her throat had not been ripped out. She was not surprised they had gotten into a public dispute. Their battles were always loud, occasionally passionate, but that was years ago, and since she had become Director, she had not once responded as passionately as she had today. She had shoved him against the window with all the force she could muster, and that had caused his instincts to come out. 

“I’m not your partner; I’m your boss,” she hissed. His fangs bared a,t her, and not once did she submit as she might have. Jenny stepped back and let him go. And that had been the start. Gibbs hadn’t avoided her but had kept his distance at least until that evening. 

“Than you should have let Ziva take the shot,” he told her. 

“Would you?” she had turned his question back on him.

“You going to tell me the rest of this?” Gibbs asked. 

“What makes you think I haven’t?” 

“I know you, Jenny,” Gibbs reminded. “Just as well as you know me and I know something is different.” 

“And I wonder what the cause of that might be?” Jenny questioned him meaningfully. He did not want to answer and so left her to her thoughts. 

“That did not go well,” Marcus told her, appearing. 

“And why not?” Jenny asked, turning to face the other vampire. 

“Today, do you understand what happened?” 

“I thought he was going to rip my throat out,” Jenny considered nonchalantly. 

“And yet, here you stand,” Marcus pointed out. “He bared his fangs, and you did not back down. You may have told him that you’re not his partner, but today you proved to be his unequivocal equal. And a finer Mate, I could not have found him.” 

Jenny watched as the older vampire left. She was rather stunned by what Marcus had revealed. Melvin appearing minutes later to help her home, aware that her headache and chest pain would be monumental this evening. After settling her at home, he used his powers and appeared in a basement not that far away. 

“Agent Gibbs,” Melvin called. 

“Melvin?” He seemed surprised. 

“I believe we need to talk, Sir,” Melvin said. 

“Can I guess the topic?” 

“Your Mate.” 

“I do not have one,” Gibbs snarled. 

“You most certainly do, blessed by your maker even,” Melvin revealed. 

“Marcus has seen her?” Gibbs demanded. 

“Yes,” Melvin said. “And he has done nothing to sway her; I give you my word. But she is under threat.” 

“The frog?” 

“Not just him,” Melvin sighed. Gibbs nodded, gesturing to the stool. 

“Then I do think we need to talk.” 

* * *

Gibbs knew, without a doubt, Jenny going back to Paris was going to be a trigger. Whether it would trigger something good or not was still something he was debating. He had been surprised when she’d left him in charge of her precious agency. He wasn’t going to worry about her safety. Melvin would be with her, and she would be safe, or so he had thought. 

“She’s missing,” Melvin cut right to the point as Gibbs picked up the phone. 

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Gibbs asked.

“As in, I cannot find her,” Melvin replied, an edge to his voice.

“How is that possible? You’re a…” Gibbs drifted off. 

“She’s come close to slipping me recently; I wasn’t sure if you had been…” 

“No, no, I have not, track her down,” Gibbs ordered. The whirlwind of activity that occurred had Gibbs feeling as if he was standing just outside a hurricane, watching it collect everything he cared about and bring it down around him. Jenny returning home, the explosion, Tony reappearing, and the full disclosure of what was happening with the Frog, it all led to this moment, standing in the shadows of the study eyeing the picture of her father, eclipsed partially by a photo of them. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Watching your back,” Gibbs said. “The Frog will come here.” 

“I’m counting on it,” Jenny swore, and she was proven correct, when just hours later, Rene Beniot was facing her down across the desk. Gibbs stepping into the light didn’t surprise her, nor did it surprise Beniot, which was curious. 

“I hope my daughter is as loyal to her father as you are to yours,” Beniot told her as he left the gun. Gibbs knew the argument they would have before a word was spoken. He wasn’t surprised when it ended in him storming out. It was who he spotted outside the house that caused him to pause momentarily before continuing to his car. He drove off but only just around the corner before using his power to return to the shadows by the house. He was in time; it seemed, Jenny was just slipping out the back door. She paused, glancing down the street before turning and sprinting in the opposite direction. Gibbs was shocked at her speed, and he used his power to keep pace with her, tailing her to a marina. As he watched her step onto the yacht, he realized it was not just the two of them. It was as if he could feel her surprise, see the shock of the CIA agent cradling the arms dealer. Gibbs was able to get closer but didn’t need the nearness to hear. 

_ “You!” Kort gasped, tearing away from his prey.  _

_ “You son of a bitch,” Jenny snapped in return.  _

_ “You are mortal!” Kort accused. “You should not have been able…” He approached her, and Jenny held out her hand. “A true woman of darkness.”  _

_ “Do not come near my agents or me ever again,” Jenny threatened. Jenny raised her gun and fired before turning on her heels and feeling up the ramp.  _

Gibbs watched as she paused at the top of the ramp gripping her chest as if in pain, and then to his great surprise, a figure appearing in front of her. 

“Marcus,” he hissed, and his maker looked over at him, finding a wolf instead. He disappeared as the wolf charged, jumping right in front of the redhead. Jenny took one step back before holding her ground and watching as he changed back. 

“Jethro,” she whispered. 

“We need to go, now,” he ordered harshly, grabbing her hand and whisking them both away. They reappeared in her study, and she collapsed into the chair. 

“Kort is a vampire.” 

“I know,” Gibbs confirmed. “I’ll take care of it. Do not leave the house tonight.” 

“Jethro…” she drifted off, her voice breaking. He looked back at her. “Stay, please.” Gibbs sighed, and once more, the large black wolf appeared in the room. He carefully edged his way under Jenny’s hands and felt her turn into him, her tears wetting his fur. There would be time later to consider her new abilities and what happened next. 

  
  
  



	7. Dusk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Progressing to Season 5...kind of filler, but also important details at the end.

The shock of Trent Kort was not enough to smooth things over between them. Jenny wondered if anything would ever smooth things over between them. If anything, Jethro seemed to trust her less, and yet, his constant presence checking on her was still felt. She knew he was there, even if he no longer entered the house. Jenny was fully aware that the rest of the team no longer trusted her after she used Tony. She was trying to make amends, and while Abby might be in a forgiving mood, it would take time with the others. 

As everything finally settled, Jenny also felt the effects of everything that had happened. She had Ducky take a blood sample, just to be sure, but she was starting to suspect that whatever was wrong with her had more to do with the other changes than not. Melvin seemed to keep an extra close watch on her, always asking if she felt alright, which only made her suspicion grow. As he walked into her office on a sunny morning, she was already dreading the questions, which is why she was surprised when he said nothing but stared out her window. 

“Can I help you?” Jenny inquired. 

“Director Shepard, there may be a situation,” Melvin started, and she could tell whatever the situation was, he desperately didn’t want to be the one to tell her. 

“Do I need to relocate?” 

“No, ma’am, nothing like that,” Melvin assured, taking a breath before glancing to the doorway and back to her. “May I be frank?”

“Has it ever stopped you before?”

“It’s Agent Gibbs,” Melvin said.

“What did he do this time?” 

“And Colonel Mann, ma’am, his case has intersected with hers,” Melvin explained. Jenny plastered on a smile that was trying to hide her smirk. 

“And?”

“I have concerns, ma’am,” Melvin added. 

“His personal life is none of your or, for that matter, my business,” Jenny snapped. 

“Bullshit,” Melvin replied forcibly. “More importantly, it is when the consideration is that she may be a threat to him.” 

“I may not like her, Melvin, but she’s hardly a threat to him, he is more than capable of handling himself,” Jenny reminded. 

“I think you’re missing the point…” he trailed off as the door opened. 

“Director,” Cynthia began. “Agent Gibbs and Colonel Mann are here to see you.” 

“We’ll continue this later, Melvin,” Jenny said, nodding at Cynthia.

“With all due respect, ma’am, I am here for your security,” Melvin said. 

“And you know my feelings on that in a meeting, out. Now,” Jenny ordered. Melvin glanced back to the door before turning toward it. The Army Colonel walked in, but she noticed Melvin pause beside Gibbs as if they had a silent communication. 

“Good morning, Director,” Colonel Mann greeted. 

“Colonel, Agent Gibbs,” Jenny greeted in turn. 

“We have a little issue,” Colonel Mann said after they all sat down. 

“We?” Jenny echoed. 

“You want to tell her, Agent Gibbs?”

“No, not particularly,” Gibbs answered and he was looking anywhere but at Jenny or the Colonel. Jenny sighed; there was no way she was an ex-wife yet.

“Is this issue going to involve lawyers?”

“ It already did. It's his ex-wife. She's a material witness,” Mann explained. 

“And which ex would that be?” Jenny inquired, turning to her old partner.  _ Please don’t say Diane.  _

“Stephanie.”

“What number is she again?” Jenny pressed. “Second?”

“Third,” Gibbs muttered. 

“Oh, right,” Jenny continued. “You lived in Europe with her for a while, Frankfurt.”

“Moscow.”

“Two years?” Jenny asked, fully aware she was dragging this out. 

“One.”

“Well, it's hard to live in Moscow. With anyone,” Jenny said, trying to hold in her laughter. She turned back to Colonel Mann. “Do you think he should divorce himself from this case, Colonel Mann?”

“No, ma'am,” Mann responded. 

“No. Nor do I. I don't see a problem if you conduct the interview,” Jenny agreed. “Do you have a problem with Colonel Mann interviewing your ex-wife, Agent Gibbs?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No,” came the unanimous response.

“Problem solved,” Jenny added with a smirk. She watched them depart before picking up the phone. “Ziva, I want updates on this case.”

“Yes, Director,” Came the rather amused reply.  _ At least we can get along on this _ , Jenny thought. 

* * *

As the two days of the case progressed, Jenny wondered if she would be seeing the ex-wife. She had hoped not. The only interesting aspect of this was the behavior of Gibbs and Melvin. Melvin was usually willing to let her do her own thing unless there was a threat. Since news of Colonel Mann’s reappearance, that was not the case. He seemed to shadow her everywhere she went, including Autopsy and MTAC. Gibbs, too, was acting peculiar. The first night she could feel him outside the house. The second night, it was to her great surprise that he knocked on the front door. 

“Jethro,” she greeted as she opened the door. “Surprised to see you.” 

“Jen,” he said as he entered the house. He said nothing more but dropped his coat on the banister and headed toward her study. 

“By all means, come on in,” she said sarcastically as she followed him to the study. He was already at the wall pouring a glass of bourbon for himself, and she noticed a second one already poured for her. Jenny picked the glass up and took one sip before setting it down. “You here to just drink my bourbon, or is there something else?” 

“You ordered Melvin to go home,” Gibbs said. 

“So I did, I wasn’t aware he reported to you,” Jenny replied. 

“You’re supposed to have a guard at night.” 

“So you’ve appointed yourself security detail,” Jenny guessed. “What’s the threat?” Gibbs was silent. “There are days I wished that invitation myth worked on you.” 

“You would still invite me in,” Gibbs said with a smirk. 

“Only in your dreams,” Jenny teased back, turning to her desk to sit. “I’m rather surprised you’re not off getting to know ex-wife number four.” 

“Jealous?” 

“Hardly,” Jenny laughed, covering the tiny bit of jealousy she did, feel. 

“Stephanie might come to see you,” Gibbs told her after a minute. 

“Fantastic,” Jenny sighed. “At least she’s not Diane.” 

“She doesn’t… I told her we were partners,” Gibbs explained. “I…”

“Relax, Jethro, I know how to lie.” 

“She likely won’t believe you,” Gibbs warned. 

“Is she going to talk to the tabloids?” 

“No.”

“Then I don’t really think it’s an issue,” Jenny decided. Silence descended again, and after a while, she turned to her paperwork as she finished her bourbon. It wasn’t until an hour or so later that she said goodnight and walked up the stairs, not very surprised when a giant black wolf followed her. 

The following morning, she awoke to find the wolf at her feet but heard voices downstairs. She lay in bed listening to Gibbs and Melvin talk. It was after she placed the voices that she turned to the wolf and pet his head. His daemon, as she’s liked to call him, was always much more mellow than Jethro himself. 

“So what are they talking about?” Jenny asked the wolf. The large animal cocked his head as if listening before shuffling closer to put his head right in her lap. Jenny leaned down to kiss the fluffy head before gently pushing him off so she could stand up. The wolf sat up, looking at her expectantly. “Uh-huh, nice try, Jethro,” she declared, and the wolf vanished as she headed into her bathroom. The perk of an old house that she’d grown up in meant she knew she could hear very well through the vent. 

“She’s awake,” Gibbs informed.

“Oh, and you just know these things,” Melvin replied. Gibbs said nothing in response. “I think we should tell her.” 

“Tell her what exactly? A potential vampire hunter thinks she’s a vampire?” 

“You know there’s no potential; I told you what I found on Mann,” Melvin responded. Jenny pulled her ear away from the vent as she heard this.  _ Mann’s a what?  _

“Hollis isn’t going to try anything,” Gibbs defended. 

“She will if she thinks Jenny has ensnared you.” 

“Not likely.”

“Humph,” Melvin’s loud cough was enough to have Jenny giggle. She could almost hear Gibbs give the stare. “Even if she doesn’t, they are rarely alone; any one of her partners could be a threat.” 

“You’re her security detail,” Gibbs reminded. 

“And she’s slipped me twice now,” Melvin revealed. “She shouldn’t be able to, and she has.” 

“She’s still a good agent.” 

“You know it’s more than that,” Melvin reminded. “She’s…” She heard Melvin pause and glanced behind her to find two dark eyes set in the face of a wolf staring at her.  _ Foiled. _

“You ruin all the fun,” Jenny huffed at the wolf before pulling the door closed in his face and starting the shower. 

Downstairs, Gibbs turned back to Melvin with a smirk on his face. The other man sat down at the kitchen table and sighed. 

“How much do you think she heard?”

“Enough,” Gibbs sighed. 

“You ever find Trent Kort?” 

“I asked Marcus to look into it when he gets back.”

“Back from where?”

“Something about a doctor that he has a hundred-year date with,” Gibbs replied. His phone beeped, and Gibbs sighed. “You got her?”

“Colonel Mann?” Gibbs said nothing but left with a door slamming tell. Just minutes later, the Director of NCIS appeared. 

“Case?” She asked as if it was commonplace to ask her security detail where her head of Major Case was.

“The Army Colonel called,” Melvin informed. “Are you ready to go in?” 

“I suppose,” Jenny answered as she followed him out to the car. It was just as he pulled out on the street that she launched her interrogation. “So what’s a vampire hunter?” 

“Director, I…” Melvin trailed off. “You should…”

“Ask Gibbs, not an option, it seems, so I’m asking you,” Jenny replied. 

“I was going to say you should ask Marcus,” Melvin said with a laugh. There was nothing else said until they pulled into NCIS, and Melvin’s phone rang. It was brief, and he glanced into the rearview mirror. “Director, Cynthia said that Ms. Flynn is here to see you.” 

“Of course she is, just perfect,” Jenny snapped. “Don’t suppose you have a way to get his attention.” 

“Oh, I’m pretty sure DiNozzo has already told him,” Melvin reassured. “Is this one of those meetings you don’t want a detail for?” Jenny simply glared. 

* * *

Gibbs felt trapped. As someone with his...affliction, it was not a pleasant feeling. Walking into NCIS with Colonel Mann was not as enjoyable as he might have found it. Only for the fact that throughout their trip over, she had not stopped dropping hints about the work on her house or other work he might assist her with. Hollis was his type, minus the red hair and the whole killing vampire thing; those aside, he could understand why his team reacted the way they had the first time they had met her and continued to during this case. He’d already overheard DiNozzo guessing about ex-wife number four. With Stephanie present, it was as if Christmas had come early to the younger agent. The second DiNozzo had gotten up from his desk should have clued him in. 

“Boss!” DiNozzo was agile and surprisingly able to cut off Ziva. 

“What, DiNozzo?” 

“Ms. Flynn is back to see the Director today,” DiNozzo informed with a halfway innocent smile. He didn’t even seem surprised when he was head slapped. 

“And did Ms. Flynn say why she wanted to speak to the Director?” Colonel Mann inquired curiously. 

“Ah...conflict of interest?” DiNozzo tried glancing between the two. Gibbs snorted at that and walked past the younger agent heading for the back elevator instead of the stairs. He half wished Hollis hadn’t followed him, but no doubt she was trying to continue her suit. 

“Jethro,” Hollis started as the doors closed. “Why have I not heard from you?” 

“I told you, Hol, I wasn’t looking for something serious,” Gibbs replied for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

“It seems all you do is serious, what with three ex-wives.” 

“That would be the reason behind not wanting something serious,” Gibbs contested. 

“And the Director?” 

“What about her?” 

“Weren’t you partners? Shouldn’t she have known who Stephanie was?” 

“She wasn’t my partner then,” Gibbs replied.

“Oh,” Mann said, glancing away. It seemed as if she had more she wanted to say but didn’t get the chance as the elevator doors opened to reveal Jenny and Stephanie leaving her office. “Director.”

“Colonel, I was just reassuring Gibbs… your witness that Agent Gibbs could separate himself from the personal aspects of this investigation,” Jenny informed, glancing at him. 

“Well, I'll monitor him closely, Director,” Mann answered. 

“I'm sure you will.” Gibbs glanced away from Jenny and off to the side to see DiNozzo approaching and was hoping this would end. 

“Is that the look you're talking about?” Stephanie cut in, leaning toward Jenny. 

“Yeah, that's it,” Jenny agreed. 

“Yup, we've all seen that one,” Mann added, trying to separate the two redheads. 

“Miss Flynn was just leaving unless you need her for something,” Jenny continued glancing at Gibbs. 

“No, she can go home,” Gibbs declared. 

“ For now,” Mann said. Mann glanced between the two women before again following Gibbs toward Tony. Jenny could hear the younger agent. 

“Train wreck. I want to look away, but I can't.” 

“You find anything?” Gibbs demanded, interrupting Jenny’s observation. 

“I bet you've never been happier to see me, Boss.” Predictably DiNozzo’s head was slapped, and Jenny sighed as she followed Stephanie to the elevator. 

“I see some things never change,” Stephanie commented as the door closed behind them. Jenny nodded. “I always felt like there was a part of Jethro I didn’t know,” she continued. 

“Hmm,” Jenny agreed noncommittally. 

“I thought it was the job, but I think it was more than that. There was a part of him I never saw,” Stephanie said sadly. “I hope he shares more with you.” 

“We’re not…” 

“Director, I appreciate you were sparing my feelings, but I think you and I can cut the crap. It was not me he called for when he had night terrors.” 

“Shannon…” Jenny tried to insert. 

“Oh, sure, once or twice, but no, it was usually Jen or Jenny.” 

“We’re not together.” 

“Then he’s an idiot because he clearly would like to be,” Stephanie informed. “And I suspect you don’t care for the blonde wannabe.” Jenny snorted at that. “If anything that should be your major clue, he wants to make you jealous.” 

“That’ll be the day,” Jenny retorted. 

“When it comes, make sure he doesn’t hide anything from you, then maybe for once, he’ll have a true partner. None of us ever could be; all three of us felt he was hiding more than just Shannon.” With that ominous response, Stephanie left the elevator and headed for the parking lot. Jenny waited for the door to close before flipping the switch. 

This was a thought she had never considered, having just assumed that if he had told the ex-wives about Shannon, he had told them everything else.  _ None of them knew, not one ever figured it out.  _

* * *

Gibbs finally found quiet in the alcove near the elevator. Hollis had disappeared. He hoped to the lab or autopsy. DiNozzo and Ziva were wisley giving him space, and McGee had long since fled to Abby’s lab. He could easily conjure up the image of all three women side by side, and it was that image that he realized what it was he was missing. Jenny easily eclipsed the other two. Her strength, her wit, her beauty too, was all-encompassing. Then there was the moment she looked at him, the moment that he knew she knew what he was thinking, that seamless connection that had always been present between them.  _ That’s your mate, _ his inner vampire whispered. Gibbs shook his head; there was a reason he believed those to be mythical.  _ You are considered mythical. Why is this so hard to grasp? She makes you happy. You can make her happy.  _ Gibbs rather doubted that, but perhaps, he could try. He heard the ding of the elevator, and she appeared as if summoned from his mind. 

“Jethro,” she greeted quietly, surprised to see him as well. 

“Jen.” 

“Stephanie left,” Jenny informed, having nothing else to say and looking back down at the floor. 

“Good.” 

“I take it she…” Jenny trailed off, looking away. 

“She didn’t know,” Gibbs replied. “None of them knew,” Jenny said nothing. The two of them stood silently together. “We’re you going upstairs?” 

“Oh, yes,” Jenny replied after a minute stepping back into the elevator. “And you?” 

“Autopsy,” Gibbs said after a minute. “Ducky is with…”

“We never did finish that conversation,” Jenny remarked. “Melvin told me to watch my back.” 

“I’m not worried,” Gibbs replied with a smirk. Jenny tilted her head as if hearing something. 

“I’ll take the stairs,” she said, refocusing. “I think you should talk with Ducky.” Gibbs watched her leave. As she disappeared around the corner, he took her advice and went down to autopsy. As he got closer, he could hear Ducky and Hollis talking. 

_ “He had a family?”  _

_ “Oh,” Ducky exclaimed, realizing his mistake.  _

Gibbs sighed as he tuned out the rest of the conversation. He knew he would have questions to answer, and on top of the day, he didn’t want to deal with it.  _ Why can’t she take the hint?  _

* * *

Jenny closed the door to her office and pressed her pager for Melvin. Barely a minute passed, and the door reopened, and Melvin found her. Jenny was pouring herself a tumbler of bourbon to his surprise, her hand shook. 

“You rang?”

“Ducky just told Colonel Mann about Shannon,” Jenny revealed. 

“Gibbs told you that?” 

“No, I overheard Ducky,” Jenny explained. 

“You weren’t in autopsy. You were in Abby’s lab,” Melvin reminded. 

“That’s the problem; I heard it when I was on the bullpen floor, just by the elevator. It was like a whisper, but I could make it out,” Jenny rambled. “I don’t know… is that what it’s like?” Melvin watched her sit in her chair and take another sip of her drink. Melvin leaned up against the wall. He was just about to speak when the phone rang, and Jenny picked up. He tuned out the conversation and waited for her to finish. She hung up and sighed. 

“Bad news?’

“Another case possibly, it’s tomorrow’s problem. I’d like to go home, Melvin,” Jenny announced, standing up and downing the rest of her drink. Melvin sent a quick text message before escorting her and taking her home. Unlike the usual evening routine, he stayed in the kitchen well past when she called out she was going to bed. It was nearing midnight when he heard the backdoor and glanced up. 

“Didn’t expect you,” Melvin greeted. 

“She’s gone,” Gibbs said. 

“Permanently?” 

“No.” 

“Hence, your presence. She went to bed an hour ago. There’s something…” Gibbs looked at him. “It can wait.” To Melvin’s surprise, Gibbs morphed in front of him, and the wolf padded out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Melvin waited until he heard the bedroom close again before stepping outside. 

“Gibbs inside?” Marcus asked.

“He is as the wolf,” Melvin replied. 

“Wonder how many times she thinks it’s his secondary form when it’s him,” Marcus laughed. 

“She couldn’t hold the decanter steady, but she hears conversations floors away,” Melvin explained. 

“The decay, how long until her birthday?” 

“A year from now, she’ll be 45,” Melvin replied. 

“Let’s hope the boy get his head together before then,” Marcus sighed. 

“And if he doesn’t?” 

“She dies.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 of virtual learning, I told you I was working on it.


End file.
